What a bunch of crap. My 90 CRX HF got 48 combined with my right foot on the floor pretty much anytime the car was not stopped. Yes, this dinky little 1.5 liter, non hybrid, non direct injection, 180k + miles on the motor, that I paid 1500 bucks for, out sipped the Prius, a car that costs over 10x as much. You wanna know the culprit - safety regulations!

All those safety ninnies have added so much weight to cars with their 10 airbags, anti lock braking systems, side impact door beams, etc etc etc, make the Prius weigh almost 3000lbs - as much as my Evo! Meanwhile, my rinky dink CRX tipped the scales at a mighty 1961 lbs, maybe a tad more after I +1 the wheels to 14' HX wheels and 86'd the stock seats in favor of Recaro made seats from the Si model

All the technology in the world cannot beat physics. You can improve how efficiently you make the power, or you can reduce the weight being moved. Which do you think is easier?

(sorry, my rant for the day)