Unfortunately, you have to drive quite a bit to reach the breakeven point.<br><br>A Corolla LE with Automatic Transmission, Intrustion Protection, Air Conditioning, Power windows and door locks has an MSRP of US$16,043 according to carpoint.msn.com. Add the standard Toyota destination fee of about $455 and the price comes to about $16,500 compared to $20,500 for a Prius. The Corolla gets a city mpg of 29 versus 52 for Prius. At $2 per US gallon, the Corrola costs $0.068/mile whereas the Prius gets $0.038/mile. At a price differential of $4400 after tax, the breakeven point is about 150,000 miles for city driving and over 400,000 miles for highway driving. Even at the European price of $6/US gallon, you have to drive "only" 48,000 miles to break even in the city or 150,000 miles on the highway.

I'm not buying this car for gas economy or to be cool. It's purely a matter of convenient (gas) clean air (SULEV).

Ahem!<br><br>You seem to have forgotten the 10% Federal Income Tax Credit on the Prius which appeard to HAVE been confirmed!<br> <a href=http://www.egroups.com/message/toyota-prius/782 target=new>http://www.egroups.com/message/toyota-prius/782</a><br>In my case - that $2,000.00 Tax Credit will "magically" become about $6,000.00 in "real" (pre-tax) money.<br>So... Recalculate at $2,000.00 (or $6,000 and MORE) if you look at pre-tax dollars.<br>Next April, I'm gonna LOVE doing my 1040!<br>Bill Powell

Huh? Are you saying your barcket is 66% or is there something else I'm missing?<br><br>Even if the $2K tax credit is equivalent to an extra $6K in taxable income in your case, I still don't see the logic. Uncle Sam is giving you $2K tax-free cash to help you buy the Prius. Isn't this the same as lowering the price by $2K? Are you also deducting the car purchase from your income?

&gt;In my case - that $2,000.00 Tax Credit will<br>&gt;"magically" become about $6,000.00 in<br>&gt;"real" (pre-tax) money<br><br>I don't understand this. Could you explain it briefly.

I think the best comparison to the Prius is the ECHO. They both have 88cu ft interior. The ECHO has a slightly larger trunk ( 13.6 vs 11.8 ). They have about the same gas engine. They have similar styling. Japanese data says the ECHO is safer than Prius (don't know for NA market).<br><br>On the highway the ECHO is real close in fuel economy (41 mpg). In the 'city' the Prius is much better... but most of the US cities I've driven in are filled with congested high-speed multi-lane belt-way type roads were people drive aggressively at 70+mph.

&gt;You seem to have forgotten the 10% Federal Income &gt;Tax Credit on the Prius which appeard to HAVE &gt;been confirmed!<br><br>Check with a competent tax advisor. This tax CREDIT only applies to a PURE EV which the Prius is not.<br><br>You can get a 10% tax DEDUCTION which is a BIG difference which is equal to 15% or 36% of $2000<br>depending on your tax bracket.

jdorff,<br>Internally we use the Corolla and Camry for comparisons....corolla for shadow size, dimensions, (there are a couple of share platform components) and Camry for features and ammenities for similar priced car....PM