how would you respond to this ?

Does anybody buy a Jaguar to save money? Does anybody buy a BMW to save money? When your neighbor buys a Lambourgini, do you ask him whether his fuel savings will pay back the difference in price between his new car and a Civic?

The Prius happens to get the best mileage of any gas-powered car being built today, so when people buy it, the nay-sayers insist we won't save enough on gas to pay for the car.

Test-drive a Prius for a day. If you like it, you'll see that improved fuel economy is just one small part of what makes this car so good. If you don't like it, then it's not the car for you.

The cheapest transportation is a used econobox from Honda or Toyota. The car that's the most fun to drive (not counting a Xebra, because we assume you need to go more than 40 miles a day) is the Prius, if you are an environmentalist gadget freak.

So instead of looking at the Prius as nothing but cheap miles, look at the whole car: its features, its reliability, its cargo space, the fact that you'll never have to do a transmission job because there isn't one, etc. The Prius is a lot more car than a Civic. If you don't want what the Prius has, then it's the wrong car for you. But if you buy a Prius, you're buying a lot more than a Civic. (OTOH, a Civic is a great car and you can't go wrong with it. Happy driving!)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ May 10 2007, 10:30 AM) [snapback]439251[/snapback]</div>

I have to agree with you on this point. I have a problem with lack of headroom in a lot of vehicles, so that is the first thing I look at in any vehicle. The Prius is just ok for me, but the 2006+ Civics are not workable for me. My head was touching the door frame and I could not see upward out of the windshield.

Back to the topic, I agree with several others, don't buy a car expecting a return on investment. They are an investment which depreciates over its useful lifetime unless it becomes a collectors item or some other unusual circumstance (like a President is assassinated in it). Buy a car you will be happy with and drive it into the ground.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pola @ May 10 2007, 10:11 AM) [snapback]439036[/snapback]</div>

You have not considered what could happen during a gas shortage! Just try to buy one of these cars if that happens! (And it has)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pola @ May 12 2007, 06:33 AM) [snapback]440537[/snapback]</div>

Wonderful! The Prius sells itself. All it takes is to drive it. I hope we were of some help.