BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — The Monroe County sheriff's new car might not be ideal for chasing down fleeing suspects, but it gets about 45 miles a gallon.

Sheriff Jim Kennedy and two other department administrators started driving Toyota Prius hybrids after the cars arrived last week.

The sheriff's new car isn't much different from a standard Prius. It has the department logo on the side and will get an interior light bar.

The idea for the hybrid came from County Councilwoman Jill Lesh, who is a member of the southern Indiana county's fleet financing subcommittee.

"When she first broached the idea, I was skeptical," Kennedy said.

But he said that rising fuel costs make the hybrids a good addition to the department's fleet.

Hybrids offer better mileage than comparable gas-only cars by switching to an electric motor whenever possible.

Chief Deputy Scott Mellinger will also use one of the cars, while the third car will be assigned to one of the department's process servers.

While it would be impossible to switch all department's squad cars to hybrids, Kennedy said changes will have to be made to deal with high fuel costs.

"American police will grudgingly change, but it will change," he said.

No one has given Kennedy a hard time about the new car, except some Indiana sheriffs he recently saw at a convention. His own deputies have seemed impressed.

"Some of them want to drive it, but I won't let them," Kennedy said.