If math is the universal language, let the calculator speak: Toyota's Prius would save the average driver $300 worth of gas every year over the Corolla, yet the Prius premium stretches to at least $5,000. ("At least" because a six-month waiting list makes the actual number anyone's guess.) Given these figures, it would take 17 years to earn back that money, and that amount of time entails at least one battery replacement. This isn't the kind of battery that comes in 50-packs at Costco for $9.99. Try $3,000.
Some readers might want to rewind and offer a correction: "since the new Prius is a mid-size car, isn't the Camry a better reference point?" I'll swim against the journalistic tide here to point out that the Corolla is closer in most specifications. The Prius leaped up a class this year because of the EPA's formula: a car becomes mid-size when passenger and trunk room add up to 110-120 cubic feet. Hatchbacks like the Prius have an edge, so it's better thought of as a Corolla with extra trunk space. The Prius' performance, or lack thereof, is also slower than a Corolla's without even mentioning the Camry, and it also shares the Corolla's cheaper rear suspension design. When Corolla replaces Camry as the standard, the Prius' advantage in gas mileage contracts while its penalty in price expands.
If he who dies with the most fuel economy wins, then the Prius is at least victorious against its Honda rival. Despite using a larger gas engine (1.5 liters vs. 1.3), the Prius averages 44 MPG in real-world tests vs. the Civic Hybrid's 36. Credit goes to Toyota's "Hybrid Synergy Drive" (now in its second generation), which can propel a car by electric and/or gas power. In contrast, the Civic's "Integrated Motor Assist" instructs the engine to take naps only at complete stops; at no time will it run on electricity alone.
But the promise of stellar efficiency comes with fine print. First, don't believe the EPA's test numbers. The Prius' city/highway rating of 60/51 implies a 55.5 MPG average, which misses the as-tested mark by 11.5. Some testers have also found hybrids to have traditional consumption patterns (city lower, freeway higher) in spite of the EPA's reversed numbers. Tell your Canadian friends not to bother with hybrids, because batteries hate cold weather. Desert dwellers are directed to the Prius specifically, as its air conditioner is now electrically driven, which lets the engine take a summer vacation. Honda hybrid owners must either guzzle gas to keep cool or melt under the sun.
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