http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...=2007706020375

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
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How does Toyota calculate a payback for the Prius? Must be against another vehicle model as there is no non-hybrid Prius.

For the hybrid payback equation, things still look grim. Even with gas prices in the low $3 range I would expect that the payback time is for most owners 4 to 6 years.

Consider the Civic Hybrid (49mpg city) vs non-Hybrid (30mpg city). Assuming an average of 12,000 miles per year the annual fuel savings is about 156 gallons. At say $3.25/gallon that's an annual savings of just over $500.

At that rate it would take about 6 years to payback the $3,100 investment in a hybrid version.

Of course compared to a Hummer, it could be as little as a year. Six months? Too short.

R. Mark Owens - Casper Desert Mist

why-oh-why are so many people seemingly obsessed by-or-with the old "how long until you get your money back" concept???

how many FEWER gallons of gasoline will have been consumed during that same time frame / under those same driving circumstances?

i may well be in the minority here but, to me ... the reduction of gasoline consumption and ALL that that implies or suggests is the MUCH more significant issue ....

our purchase of a Prius -- Classic Silver Metallic / Pkg #3 -- has FINALLY come to pass ....

The Prius has no direct i.c.e. equivalent. I'll bet that the boys at Toyota compared the Prius to a Camry to derive a very small price premium. That's how they got the "5 months" payback.

But the Prius doesn't really compare to the Corolla, either. It's simply a unique model.

Several hybrids DO have i.c.e. counterparts. The Saturn Aura has a hybrid version (gets 2 mpg more than the i.c.e. -- b.f.d.). The Ford Escape has a hybrid, which is okay. And the Honda Civic has a hybrid, which is right on point with the Prius -- small, 4 door sedan that gets HIGH mpg.

The premium for a Civic Hybrid is (was, before $4 gas and dealer add-ons) $3,000. The fed. gov't still gives $1,000 to everyone who buys one, so the premium is really $2,000. The mpg difference between the two is 12 mpg. So a person would simply have to estimate how many miles per year he/she drives, then do the math to calculate the annual savings and subsequent time to break even on the $2,000 premium.

It's safe to say that if you drive 20,000 miles per year, a hybrid should be your first choice. If you drive 15K, it's a toss-up. And if you drive 10K, stick with an i.c.e. car.