 I commute from Sacramento to San Francisco 4 days a week.  I had been driving a Ford Taurus, and the recent gas prices made me rethink my driving needs.  First stop was Toyota. I wanted to get into a hybrid, and save money on fuel.  I was not able to find a new one, and the used ones were much more than the list price of new ones.  Then it hit me.  I can buy a Kia Rio for under $11,000, get 35 mpg, and save thousands of dollars.  By my calculations, I would be driving a Prius for over 20 years to save enough money on fuel to cover the difference in cost of the Rio.  And that does not include maintenance on the batteries, which no one seems to have an answer for. 