Today I took the Lexus HS 250h running errands with my five-year-old, Sophie. Bank, grocery store, dry cleaners, that sort of thing. At the end of the day, I'm still impressed, and so is Sophie (she loved that she could connect her iPod to the sound system). The HS 250h was so quiet while idling in line for the drive-up teller at the bank that I wanted to restart it... did it stall? No, it's just... quiet. The "READY" light on the instrument panel really is necessary after all.

I got an average of 32.4 MPG today, strictly city driving, lots of stop and go. My only complaint? The trunk is downright dinky. The tote bags of groceries fit, but the case of soda had to go in the back seat. I skipped the trip to Home Depot, since there was no way the paint and primer would have fit in the trunk with the groceries.

But I am still very taken with this vehicle. I know I'm not getting this kind of gas mileage, or street cred, in my Alero.

Thursday I’m taking the HS 250h on a long road trip, almost entirely on the freeway, to see what kind of mileage I can get, and to see what the driving experience is like. Stay tuned!