"I didn't know Nissan made a hybrid!"  That was the number one thing said to me this weekend as my husband and I took our test drive Nissan Altima Hybrid to Rhode Island for a friend's wedding.

I've been wanting to try a hybrid for a while, as saving money on gas is obviously pretty compelling to me.  I received the Nissan Hybrid on Thursday, and immediately fell in love with it when I drove it that morning.  So, what makes me love it (beyond the obvious gas efficiency?).

• The ride - this car offers the smoothest ride I could ever imagine.   It's actually a pleasure to drive.
• The "extras" -  Bluetooth, built-in GPS, a monitor showing the view behind the car when you back up, heated front seats, a Bose sound system, and XM Radio.  My current car has none of these, and now I feel like I am missing out!  I especially love the built-in GPS, because when it "talks" the radio volume lowers
• The roomy back seat.  It easily fits our two big car seats with room to spare.  I haven't tried it yet, but I'm fairly certain I could sit back there with the two car seats - something that isn't possible in our Honda Accord.
i>The space-age, high tech "key".  There's no ignition - you just have to have the "key" somewhere in the car, and press the on button.

Onto the gas efficiency - we easily drove 200 miles this weekend (and not all highway miles) and used less than 1/4 tank of gas.  That's pretty amazing!  I think, in an average month, we'd probably go through less than one tank of gas.  My next TravelingMom column will review the gas efficiency economics in more detail.