Unlike everyone else on this thread, I actually have a Prius, and this is my second Prius--gave mom the old one when the new model came out.
On the new one, I CONSISTENTLY get 50-52 mpg in summer and 49-50 in winter, this is a mix of highway and city driving.
I can only think the drivers who tested the mpg in this article were teenagers, roaring out from the start and slamming on their brakes at the last second. They are wrong.
These are great, and I mean GREAT cars.
How are you calculating the fuel economy?
I have an '05 Prius, and my average MPG over the 39K miles life of the car is 48.7 mpg. I put nearly 38K miles on the car in one year, so for me this is meaninful. My VW Passat got about 24 MPG, so I am spending about 1/2 what I was for gas.
I have to confess, though, I got the Prius for other reasons, too. It has great gadgets. My favorite is the smart key system. I never have to take my key from my pocket to unlock the doors or start the car. It knows when I am there. The touch screen climate and stereo controls are cool. The regenerative braking system saves on brake pad wear. It's no race car, but I can cruise at 80 if I want, without strain on the car (I am 48 years old, so I don't do that much). There is plenty of room inside, as much as the Passat had.
But if you get a hybrid just for mileage, and you drive 12k miles per year or so, it doesn't really pay off.