Originally Posted by Cubdriver

Priuses (Prei?) are great cars for the efficiency but hardly worth it for most people unless gas hits $8 or better. They use nickel metal hydride NiMH batteries that eventually decay in output (like 12 years on) which reduces the mileage a bit since these cars use the engine when the battery cuts out, but they do not require battery replacement for normal wear period. NiMH is the same type of echargeable battery you have in your camera. The way to get into a Prius is to schedule one as an eventual replacement for your present ride when it wears out, gets wrecked, stolen or goes back to the leasing agency hopefully not all at once. This is because there is an average two month waiting list on Priyuses plus the buy-in cost is not justified over what you may have now. You also may want to wait for the Prius-smasher supposedly coming from Honda next year, because them claim the difference between hybrid and gas-only versions of the same thing will be limited to $2k.