If you're looking for an economical, boring, spacious 5-seater this is your car. It's a better buy than any other small SUV or wagon.

Mushy handling, poor acceleration (obviously), but still somehow enjoyable to drive. Maximizing efficiency is fun, and trying to keep the car quiet in electric mode is kind of cool. It can maintain about 50km/h in electric mode, so if you're out and about in the city or stuck in stop and go traffic, you'll really reap the rewards. However, even during normal highway driving, the car does well both in terms of driving and fuel economy.

I'd place this miles ahead of direct competitors like the VW Golf Wagon and small SUV's like Toyota's RAV4, the Honda CR-V, and the Ford Escape, unless of course you need towing capability, which this doesn't have.

I'd say it's a toss up between the Prius V and the Ford C-Max Hybrid/Energi for the best large fuel-efficient family car. The Energi definitely gets the job done way better with the plug-in capabilities, but the cargo space isn't even comparable between the Toyota and the Ford (Toyota being larger), although they are the most direct competitors.