I bought my first Prius a year ago and really like it. It's a 2008 "touring" model (leather, slightly wider wheel base, fog lights) and I bought it from a bartender for $3,200. A steal you say? Kind of. It had 260k miles on it. Now it's pushing 280k with no signs of stopping. Just enough pep, good handling, efficient, well designed and reliable as $hit.
I'm tall, so the head clearance isn't great when you're trying to see the traffic signal (if you're near the front of the intersection). But when you fold the seats down, it holds a lot of stuff, like a small pickup.
Besides the headroom, I don't love the low clearance (in snow), but living in a place that doesn't snow often. It drives GREAT in the snow with winter tires, as long as you aren't pushing snow.
I spoke with a person who buys used Prius and parts them out. He says he's never seen a 2nd Gen prius battery go bad, only 1st Gen (1997-2003).