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Toyota vs…Toyota? Camry Hybrid takes on the Prius

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT TOYOTA HYBRIDS:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=127826

Guy walks into a Toyota dealer — sounds like a joke so far, right? Not quite.

Guy walks into a Toyota dealer looking for a 2008 Toyota Prius. He’s heard about hybrids for awhile now, and the Prius is one he knows by name. He vaguely recalls some celebrity bragging about taking one to the Academy Awards instead of a limo, and then there was that South Park episode, “Smug Alert” a couple of years back. And didn’t Al Gore’s own son make headlines for getting busted doing 100 mph in his Prius?

Something like that. Beyond the hype, Guy’s never really given hybrid cars much thought, much less gone looking for one. And even though he can afford a decent-size car or SUV, the price of gasoline has him looking for fuel economy in a serious way.

And there on the showroom floor, Guy sees a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid for almost the same amount of money as a Prius. Now what?

Can Honda Fit Beat Prius? 2008 Honda Fit vs. 2008 Toyota Prius

 

CHECK OUT THE HYBRID VS. NON-HYBRID COMPARISON:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/…

Consider this: The 2008 Toyota Prius base model costs 50 percent more than the 2008 Honda Fit base model. Then again, the Prius is 50 percent more fuel-efficient than the Fit when you look at the EPA’s figure for combined mpg. So how does this add up?

You could save ,425 right now by buying a ,420 Honda Fit instead of the ,845 Toyota Prius. Of course, if the price of gasoline goes higher, then the Prius with its EPA combined estimate of 46 mpg will pay you back for your investment sooner than you’d expect. Then again, the Fit with its EPA combined estimate of 30 mpg doesn’t carry the same penalty of higher financing charges, insurance costs and taxes as the more expensive Prius, plus the Toyota will be needing a new ,585 battery pack when the odometer shows 100,000-150,000 miles.

Which car is best? It sounds like the kind of question for one of those money magazines. Yes, we’ve painted ourselves into a bit of a projected-cost corner with this comparison of the base models of the 2008 Honda Fit and 2008 Toyota Prius, but we think we can get out without stepping on too much wet paint