So far, the Inside Line team has racked up more than 500 miles in the plug-in Prius and the experience has to be considered somewhat of a let down. The team has averaged 62 miles per gallon, a good number for sure, but one that many drivers of the more conventional Prius have easily achieved on a regular basis

Inside Line even tracked the cost for charging the Prius and came back with an average of 65 cents per fill. Now, for those wondering about the payback period on the plug-in Prius, Toyota estimates that the plug-in version would hit the streets with a base price of around $27,550, a $4,000 premium over a traditional Prius. Given the plug-in's slightly improved efficiency, one would have to drive 215,100 miles to make up for the additional cash laid out to start, but even that figure fails to factor in the cost of charging the Prius. Dependent upon the cost of electricity, a plug-in Prius will likely cost more to drive than its more traditional hybrid counterpart. The plug-in Prius might not be a wise investment, but Inside Line still adamently believes that it's one of the best hybrids available. We won't argue with that. Follow the jump to watch the plug-in Prius in action

Ford has countered with a 305 horsepower V6 that gets an EPA rated 31 mpg. To demonstrate the excellent gas mileage of this new Mustang, they went around the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway 1,457 times…. on a single tank of gas. This means the Mustang got 48.5 miles per gallon. Take that, Prius!