Still shopping, any input appreciated

So, when I started seriously thinking about trading in my car last year, i looked at a nicely loaded 2008 Camry Hybrid. i didnt test drive it, just sat in it and checked it out, I really liked it, very comfortable, but the trunk is pretty small for occasional things that i use my car for. Not long after that, a 2010 Honda Insight popped up around the same price range. I didnt like it as much, although the hatchback was better for my occasional needs, it just felt kinda cheap to me.
So, since then i havent really been looking just keeping my eyes open on ads for a used prius, you dont see them often around here. Finally, there was a 2010 iv at my local dealer. By the time I had done the math and almost made up my mind, it had been sold.
So then, there was a 2009. I figured must have been traded in on that 2010. Again I did my research, worked out the numbers, finally went to look at it and it had just sold.
So...
I'm at the point where some pretty big repairs are going to be coming up on my present car. I'd rather not have to struggle to come up with the money for them if I'm just going to be trading it in anyway.
My dilemma is, it could be many months again before another used prius comes along. And when it does it may be out of my price range, since they saw these two sell so fast.
So now I'm wondering how does the Camry Hybrid compare? There is another one looks almost just like the first one at a different dealer, and a little lower priced too. (Still not super low to make me jump at a step down)
I know the fuel efficiency wont be nearly as good, but how is it really, in real life? And possibly even more importantly, how is it on maintenance and repairs? That was a big reason i wanted the prius. I'm thinking maybe Camry might be cheaper on repairs around here than the prius, since prius is so rare but the possibility of used normal Camry parts might be more common..?
What are your thoughts as well on even older gen 2 prius, (like 2005, 2006) with higher mileage and at far away dealerships (almost all are km over or just under hybrid battery warranty range)

 

Go for which one though?

 

I am in Canada.

 

Those are the pluses I noticed right away in reviews and stuff, and the comfort thing I'm sure I would get used to but really miss at first.
What do you mean exactly by 70% of the prius?
I've had a harder time finding reports of real life mpg (or Lper100km) for the Camry Hybrid than I did for the prius(es) Same with repair and maintenance stuff.

 

It takes as long as it takes. And if you must know, more of the researching was financial rather than physically will i like this car. And then there's the fact that I was first looking at a 2010. So I did my researching focused on the 2010 model. Then when that sold I had to go digging again on specifics for the 2009 model, now im starting over on the Camry too. Sure, it's really easy to find out about the good points of a car, they're written everywhere. I was searching for the bad too, and that can be harder to find specifics on. Is it likely to cost me as much for maintenance and constant repairs? Will this and that fail as early? How much do its tires/brakes/etc. cost and how long do they last?
Sometimes I've had to read through pages and pages and pages to learn more about what I was questioning. That takes time.
On top of this I was getting quotes from my dealer friend and then going through our financial stuff to see how manageable that payment increase would be and then matching it up against potential gas savings and repair savings and frankly I went out and picked up a couple little part time jobs to make up the gap and make sure the difference would be covered before I went to see it and fell in love. I just wanted to make sure I had all potential questions answered and could take a thoroughly intelligent look at the car before I even brought it up with my husband, much less walked in to start negotiating with a dealer.
With a job (now a few) and kids and animals and other obligations and tasks, well yeah, that takes time. Takes me more than a day.
Now in the future, I have a lot of the legwork done and shouldn't take as long to make a decision.

 

Well, new or even newer cars are out of the question i'm sure. I'll catch up to one of those 10 years from now maybe. Lol. I had a 78 volvo wagon in 97. Lol. Moved up to an 88 Lincoln town car in 99 - wow we jumped a whole Decade!! Thought we were pretty cool. The husband got a new van last year, that's our "new" car - I drive the older cars.
And no hills here in Southern Ontario, so I guess that's a plus. The closest you see is if somebody has a slanted driveway. Lol.
I am just over 5 feet so that's no problem for me, but my son just passed 6 feet.
I drive quite a bit actually. Put on about 20,000 km last year. Will likely increase this year with these part time jobs and planning more regular road trips too.
But I'm really not interested in just any old little crappy car that's good on gas. Family works at Chryslers, so the only way i'd get away with buying "foreign" is simply because chrysler wont make me a decent hybrid. I've been in love with the idea of a hybrid for SO many years. Its not just the gas numbers, its the whole idea, the engine is turning OFF. that's smart. you're using braking to recharge. That's just smart. Why waste if you dont have to? Why isnt every car doing this stuff?? When I started actually really looking into them and realized that they actually seem to be more reliable, well... Making even more sense.

 

Well, new or even newer cars are out of the question i'm sure. I'll catch up to one of those 10 years from now maybe. Lol. I had a 78 volvo wagon in 97. Lol. Moved up to an 88 Lincoln town car in 99 - wow we jumped a whole Decade!! Thought we were pretty cool. Been through a bunch of crap since then, really thinking we should have hung on to those old ones, they seemed to be built a lot better.
The husband got a new van last year, that's our "new" car - I drive the older cars. That's the problem - I was always ok with that, but after problem after problem with my last few hand me downs I got fed up and spoiled myself last year with something pretty new, and fancy and big - and then realized that I didn't need the size. Didnt really need the new (things started needing repairs after a couple of months so what good did that recent year do me) but sadly I am in love with some of the fancy.
And no hills here in Southern Ontario, so I guess that's a plus. The closest you see is if somebody has a slanted driveway. Lol.
I am just over 5 feet so that's no problem for me, but my son just passed 6 feet.
I drive quite a bit actually. Put on about 20,000 km last year. Will likely increase this year with these part time jobs and planning more regular road trips too.
But I'm really not interested in just any old little crappy car that's good on gas. Family works at Chryslers, so the only way i'd get away with buying "foreign" is simply because chrysler wont make me a decent hybrid. I've been in love with the idea of a hybrid for SO many years. Its not just the gas numbers, its the whole idea, the engine is turning OFF. that's smart. you're using braking to recharge. That's just smart. Why waste if you dont have to? Why isnt every car doing this stuff?? When I started thinking about trading in my new car and actually really looking into the hybrids in detail and realized that they actually seem to be more reliable, well... Making even more sense.

 

10" square you say? Hmm.
I was having trouble finding actual measurements. I had seen one in person and it looked pretty small. I mean at the time I was just thinking "that's big enough for a hockey stick" and that's usually all I really needed the length for. frankly i was kind of excited at the idea of being able to lock that stinky sports equipment away in an enclosed trunk rather than having the aroma permeate the entire vehicle, hahahaha - but, occasionally I cart around one of those canopy tents (I do a little face painting) and I was worried about how I'd manage that. I'm wondering now just how big that tent is around when its folded up... It might actually be smaller than 10".... If so, I don't know that I'd really really need a hatchback after all. More convenient yes, but not necessarily necessary.

 

Just noticed you mentioned bumps. Hmm. I don't mind a bumpy ride, I'm used to it with all the crap I've driven over the years, but my husband has a really bad back injury now and bumps are not good. While we may have no hills here, there is an infinite number of bumps. Lol. Our driveway, the parking lot entrance at my work, the never ending road repairs on my husband's commute... I was just thinking the Camry seats in general would be nicer on his back, but that bump thing might actually make up a bit for the loss in fuel savings.