over the long term, do i save money w/ something like a prius over something like a ford fiesta?

Source: Yahoo! Answers

just trying to get an idea if the extra expense of a hybrid will save me money over the long term vs. something that gets good mileage overall anyway.

Understand that a mid-sized car like the Prius will always cost more than a compact or sub-compact car like the Fiesta. A used car will cost even less although some months it will seem like you're trading car payments for repair payments--nevertheless it's still cheaper because you haven't spent the money up front. In... Read More
Depends. Quick answer - probably not. If gas prices get high enough - yes. But gas prices will have to get REALLY high. I have not graphed it out, but fiesta should get 35 mpg. Lets say it only gets 30. The prius - 50. Let's say you drive 10,000 miles a year. It will cost you 200 gallons in the Prius. 333 gallons in... Read More
You'll have to do the math, accounting for how much city versus highway driving you do, the projected cost of fuel, the depreciation of each car, and the cost of maintenance for the duration of time you're considering. The one wild unknown is the cost of fuel, which has remained fairly stable recently. If the economy... Read More
Well, sit down and do the math then. Calculate, yearly, how much fuel you save. Multiply that by cost, and you find out how much you save. Then subtract that from how much extra it cost to buy the hybrid. That will tell you how many years it will take to pay off the hybrid. I've done this a few times, and it generally... Read More