Good hybrid cars, or cars good on gas?

[NewJeffCT]

My wife and I have started looking for a new car recently - we like the Toyota Prius because it is excellent on gas, and since it gets over 40mpg, you don't have to pay sales tax in Connecticut. (For a $22,000 car, that is $1,320 at 6%)

However, the local dealer we went to said they were charging a $2,500 surcharge on top of the MSRP for the Prius, and that most dealers in CT were charging $2,500 to $5,000 over MSRP... and, there is a 6-8 month wait. Meanwhile, we have a buyer for our Honda Odyssey right now, and I doubt he'd wait six months.

We checked around a bit since we're not too far from Massachusetts, and the nearest dealer in Mass said they were charging $4,000 over MSRP and that Mass dealers were charging $4,000 to $8,000 over MSRP. Plus, there is no sales tax waiver in Mass that the dealer knew about.

We even had a dealer from California contact us after we filled out an online form for BJ's Wholesale Club, and this guy told us that in California, they're charging $5,000 to $10,000 extra for the Prius.

So, needless to say, we have to look at other options since we don't want to pay the surcharge for the Prius.

Any other sedans that are good on gas and not too small? I haven't looked too closely at the Camry hybrid's availability, or the Honda Civic hybrid. Anything other options? The Honda Fit seems too small to me.

Thanks

[DarkTirade]

1. One of our cars here is a Civic hybred, and while it's small and doesn't have a whole lot of power

its fuel economy is REALLY good so I drive it whenever I can. The other car gets a fairly normal 25-30 mpg, but it just SEEMS like a lot more after I've been driving the Civic. :)

[Mr. Blonde]

2. Normal cars with good gas mileage

are the cheaper option. I think it is like 10 years to even out the savings on gas compared to the actual cost of the car. At least right now, if gas keeps going up that time frame will change.

I'm a fan of Subarus but I don't think they get quite as good gas mileage due to the all time awd. Still if you have to deal with inclement weather, that trade off may be worth it too.

[NewJeffCT]

4. I did a statistical analysis

based on my current driving habits, with the cost of gas being $4.00/gallon, and also $5/gallon.

Obviously, I can't compare a non-hybrid Prius to a hybrid one, but I did do it for both the Camry hybrid and the Civic hybrid: With gas at $4/gallon and me driving 20,000 miles per year, it would take about 3 1/3 years to make up the difference in price for a hybrid Camry and a little over 7 years for a hybrid Civic. If gas prices continue to go up, that time will shrink.

[Mr. Blonde]

7. That isn't too bad really for the Camry

Throw in the fact that it will most likely hold its value better than the traditional and its a good deal.

[Chan790]

3. One of my coworkers has a Fit.

It's roomier than it looks, much like a Mini Cooper is. However, it's not as good on fuel as they make it sound. She's doing mostly highway in light traffic (Southbury to Southington) and is getting around 30mpg or just-under. One can buy any number of sedans which match that performance.

[gilpo]

5. I have a buddy who gets 45 MPG in his Toyota Yaris

I get 57 in my Civic Hybrid.

[Chan790]

6. My parents are looking at a Yaris...

My mom loves the one she test-drove.

[NewJeffCT]

8. afternoon kick

to see if I can get more info.

[redqueen]

9. The Pontiac Vibe's not too bad... not sure about emissions though.

Some of those cars with fantastic mileage still have kinda not-so-good emissions ratings.

I used this to check them out when I was looking for a car: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

[jobycom]

10. Have you tried EBay or Autotrader?

I bought my Prius in 04 off Ebay. There was a six month wait list and a surcharge, then, too. Got one with 5,000 miles, had to drive to Connecticut to get it, but it's easily been worth it, not just for the mileage but for the quality of the car. Nothing wears out, nothing breaks. And the resale is unbelievable. We bought the car for 21K and the Edmunds value on it now is almost 15K.

Another thing I tried was emailing dealers across the state, and even nearby states. Some rural dealers don't sell them as quickly, and I've met people who bought them from small dealers in rural areas without a wait. Emailing around, I found a couple of much shorter waiting lists, and one dealer who would sell me one for barely over list.

[montanto]

11. I know lots of people with the Prius, they love them,

but forget about California. Gas is $5.00 already, sales tax is high, and people are lined up to buy these things. On the other hand, if you want to buy a monster truck of some kind, they are for sale cheap on every corner.

[IronLionZion]

12. Most 4 cylinder cars are quite fuel efficient

especially the Civic, which I own and love. A stick shift would be even cheaper by like $800 and have traditionally been more fuel efficient but newer automatics and CVTs have comparable efficiency. A friend has the Civic hybrid and loves it. There are hybrid versions of the Altima and Accord too. I think all hybrids have CVT (continuously variable transmission) so there are no gears to shift.

Also consider the Corolla, Mazda3, Sentra, Focus, Cobalt, Jetta, Rabbit, etc. Those are all pretty fuel efficient and come in 4 door versions. If you want something bigger, the 4-cylinder versions of the Accord, Camry, and Altima are fuel efficient. The Volkswagens come in fuel efficient turbo-diesel versions as well.

[NewEnglandGirl]

13. I don't know that much

about cars but a friend just bought a regular Civic and he said it gets about 29mpg around town and 39 highway. I know that he bought it in NY. He drives 3 hours a day back and forth to work, (1 1/2 hours each way) so he had to do something. I would love to get something with four wheel drive but I want good gas mileage and nothing that is too big. There are so many variables. It's confusing. Good luck ! :)

[NewJeffCT]

15. A year ago

we were thinking about a Subaru Outback type of wagon to replace the minivan, but the mileage on that ain't too good (27 highway, 20 city, I think)

[NewEnglandGirl]

16. Yes, the size is right

and I think they're all wheel drive but I don't want that low gas mileage. I'm wondering about the small SUV's, I think they're called CRV's. Probably are really expensive too.

[CatholicEdHead]

17. New CRVs run $20-25K, old ones can be had for as little as $5K ('98)

[NewEnglandGirl]

18. I wouldn't even mind

getting a used one. Have to check the gas mileage.

[bertha katzenengel]

14. gas car - Toyota Yaris. Getting 35 - 38 MPG highway/city combined

I understand they're pretty hard to get these days.