This may be an ignorant comment, but with a diesel engine in the Mercedes it seems that biodiesel or vegetable oil becomes an option to "green" the car. With the price of a Mercedes, the filter and other modifications are almost trivial.

The BluTec diesel filled up with biodiesel made from recycled vegetable oil is a pretty attractive alternative to the Prius. The advanced emissions controls and the renewable biofuel route isn't as convenient as a Prius when it comes time to fill up (nor are diesels generally).

But what's bugging me about the query is me thinking about just how tall this guy is. I'm over six feet tall and I don't feel cramped at all in a Prius. It sounds to me like some of that "cramping" is being caused more by the fact that you'd prefer to roll a benz. Maybe a hybrid Lexus GS450h is what you need to test drive next to the E320? Personally, I'd go biodiesel E320 over the GS450h, but that's just me.

Now, how green is Prius to begin with, really?
The new Fiat 500 diesel: 67mpg. The new Mini turbodiesel: 63mpg. I'd take either over a Prius any day. Both are smaller than the Prius, of course. I am 6'1".

I second that Steve. My main driver is a Prius, and at around 200 cms (I think thats about 6" 6), I don't have trouble fitting in it, front or back. (I tried both before I bought it.)

There's nothing wrong with dimensions of 2nd generation Prius. All they needed to do to make it more acceptable for taller people is to add driver seat height adjustment. I'm 6'4", and when I sit in Prius, rear view mirror is below my chin line. That's the only reason I'm not driving this otherwise wonderful car.

The Prius and that Benz have the exact same front headroom and front legroom. Exactly the same.

A 6 foot person eaily fits in either one.

Now if you're really fat, that's another thing. The Benz is substantially wider.

Can mining and smelting nickel be considered a green process?

P.S. Comparison of GS450h to BLUTEC E320 to 2004 Prius brought to you by me and www.fueleconomy.gov:

Lexus GS 450h: 22/25 (23 combined) mpg, 0-60 in 5.2 seconds, @$54k

Greenhouse gas emissions: 8 tons a year, scores 8 on EPA air pollution score

Mercedes E320: 23/32 (26 combined), 0-60 in 6.6 seconds, @52k

Greenhouse gas emissions: 8.1 tons a year, doesn’t have an EPA air pollution score

Toyota Prius: 48/45 (46 combined), 0-60 (you’re joking?), you already own it

Greenhouse gas emissions: 4 tons a year, scores 8 on EPA air pollution score

Umm... these are the cold hard facts.

A lot of how someone fits in a Prius depends on how they are built. I am 6' 3" and barely fit in any cars because most of my height is in my upper body. I like to sit up straight when I drive and I can't fit in the Prius.

Did Toyota show pictures of the 2008 Prius, or is this based on the "Spy Pics" that came out a while ago? Or did you extrapolate that from the Hybrid X? I'm not being rude or confrontational. I just want to know why you seem to know the 2008 Prius will be "beautiful," and see pics if there are pics.

I agree about the headroom thing. I find the Prius pretty tall compared to what I'm used to. The first cars my family owned (When I was just a toddler) were a Tercel and Corrola. They were naturally small, and sadly a bit too small for a family, so we eventually got a hatchback with collapsible kid seats in the back, which we sold about 6 years later due to financial issues and little need for the extra space. Along with that, as a commuter car for my dad, we had a 1997 Camry. It was a very nice sedan that served us well for a bit over 10 years. The roof was a mere few inches above my head after I went through puberty, and I am now 6ft. It didn't bother me.

After the Camry died, we got a Prius. The Prius is a small car, but it feels bigger on the inside, thanks to the higher roof and the small steering wheel. It feels roomier, even though it probably isn't that much different from the Camry, in terms of cubic feet. The pedals seem to be the right distance once I adjust the seat, so I have no complaints, ergonomics-wise.

Hate to be a pedant but the graphic that accompanies this article is VERY confusing. I thought the article was about trying to find a car for garden gnomes...

" (double prime) is used for inches.

' (single prime) is used for feet.

Of course both the Volkswagon Golf and Polo lines outperform all of these cars on fuel economy. Until the diesel hybrids come out driving a Prius is just something you do to make yourself feel better. Of course if you live in an area with limited diesel availability a prius might make sense. Of course a plug-in kit for the Prius combined with a short drive to work changes this equation entirely. Add to that the only common liquid fuel with any promise of being even slightly sustainable is diesel.

So where are the Hybrid Plug-In Diesel cars with regenerative breaking filling up at the biodiesel (from algae) filling stations on our way to the solar powered high-speed Mag-lev train station? ;)

Somewhere on the other side of big oil I'm afraid.

Until then I have my bicycle.

My girlfriend is 6 feet tall, like the person submitting the question. We wanted a car that got at least 30 miles per gallon AND a car where her head was not flush against the ceiling and her knees did not scrunch against the dashboard.

We test drove the Honda Fit, the Nissa Versa, the Honda Civic, the Mazda3, and the Toyota Yaris sedan. The Fit did not fit - her head hit the ceiling. The Versa was high enough but our shoulders squished together. The Yaris was not tall or broad enough. The Mazda3 fit us fine but I didn't like the constricted view out the back window. The Civic was roomy enough but it was as expensive as the car we ultimately bought. We decided to buy a new Altima, which we love. However, at best, it gets 26 miles per gallon (mostly highway driving). At worst, it gets around 23 to 24 mpg. But we fit. (We plan to buy the Altima hybrid if and when it is available in our state.)

Your suggestions for a person 6 feet tall to try the Fit, the Versa or the Yaris is not practical. They will not have enough room for head and knees.

The graphic on the upper right reads

Green Driving At 6" Tall

At six inches tall, there are many electric vehicles to choose from at your neighborhood toy store. ;-)

I'm not sure those are the cold hard facts, stevejust, because as the www.fueleconomy.gov site points out, your milage may vary. I think it's important to ask what type of driving do you do? If most of your driving is long-haul hiway driving, you'll find that you get much much better fuel economy out of the diesels. If you are more of a stop-and-go city driver (and drive your vehicle correctly) then the Prius type hybrid is the way to go. Though I expect that in no scenario does a hybrid SUV make much sense, unless you are a mountain man or it's for really big construction sites.

OK, couple of things.

First, you are considering a $50K+ vehicle!!!

That's nutty, but that's also my opinion.

What I would suggest is to get the 2008 Escape hybrid which just bumped its mileage above 31 and the E320 gets 35. Then, since its a hybrid, you can probably adjust your driving style to squeeze out much better MPG like everyone is doing with the Prius.

THEN, next year several aftermarket manufactures of plug-in-hybrid kits will have them for the Escape (some do now). Even if that costs you another $10K, you still win big-time over the E320.

BUT, you could get the E320 and have a Grease Car kit installed. Yep, it works. The installer who lives near me has converted 3 of them so far. Sounds insane to take a $50K vehicle and void the fuel system warranty, but hey, we're already in the land of the insane, right? :)

So seriously, don't plunk down that money on an E320 just yet. Check out the Escape, the Highlander, the Lexus (all will have PHEV kits available). Also, later this year the new Jettas come out with the new diesels. 45+mpg. Not sure on the leg/head room compared to the Prius, but worthy of consideration.

a) I am 6' 2", and have no trouble fitting in my friend's Prius; the car is insanely tall.

b) 6" (in the graphic) means "six inches", at which point one might have some difficulty reaching the pedals, green car or no.

Consider VW. They are using the same bluetec (2008 models) as MB, but the cars are smaller overall. Some of their autos get 80+ mpg and my friends and I being over 6' tall have plenty of head room.

The graphic says 6" Tall. The double-mark actually means INCHES. A single-mark indicates feet.

I have an idea.I have seen a jeep on greasecar.com.It may suit your need for height.It also burns used cooking oil.It was converted to a diesel engine.Then had one of their kits installed.It claims 30 mpg.

I was wondering about his height too. I'm 6' 4" and I have no trouble in a Prius.

Knee-Jerk -

Camry hybrid? Maybe too heavy? I didn't look at the mileage figures.

At 6 feet as well, my option is 56 centimeters ... road bike frame size (sorry just being a wise a$$!).

vk

The new VW Rabbit and Jetta diesel should be coming out in the next 6 months I think. Should get close to 50mpg with around 230lbs of torque.

The new VW Rabbit and Jetta diesel should be coming out in the next 6 months I think. Should get close to 50mpg

Seeing as the '06 Jetta gets 33 mpg, that would be quite a fuel economy increase.

Kearns: mileage does vary. But when you're comparing highway mileage at 32 for the E320 diesel to 45 for the Prius, think about the percentage in variance for each vehicle that you'd need to have the E320 get better mileage on the highway than the Prius.

i don't get it...i'm 6' 3" tall and i have an '07 Prius and i have room to spare & i'm plenty comfortable (and i'm no lightweight either)...before the Prius, i had a Toyota Echo & also had room to spare...wonder what the real concern is here?...maybe "stevejust" is right and you just want to "roll a benz"...hehehe...:)

Its very important today that everyone drives a green car because trasportation things arethe main reason behind increasing pollution