Regarding Hybrid cars. From a pure financial sense, some numbers…
Toyota Prius $22,160 (if you can buy one for that). Toyota Yaris $15,885 (almost same equipment) $6,275 diff. Prius 46mpg/avg Yaris 32mpg/avg prius 15k/yr $4.50/gal. = $1,467.41 Yaris 15k/yr $4.50/gal. = $2,109.38 diff = $641.97
9 years to see the savings.
Realistically, I believe you end up spending closer to $26k for a prius because toyota "makes" to get options you might not want, versus something else like a Yaris you can "strip" down a car (I don't see a point in folks that want basic transportation to load up the car with luxuries either).
Some claim prius is a mid-sized car, so this isn't a fair comparison… So, if you want a fairer comparison
Toyota Camry LE $20,685 Toyota Camry Hybrid $25,860 $5,175 diff.
Also, this doesn't include the cost of replacing the battery out-of-warranty if you plan on keeping the car for that long, which will currently set you back $3k for toyota's and $2k for hondas respectively, though owners of the first gen prius have reported less than 1% needed a battery replacement. For me, I keep my cars until they go into the ground. Don't know if that applies to everyone though.
