Thanks for the tip Mike!

Eugene is right. My 91 Mazda gets near 40mpg and it's cost me less than $1000 since 2000...including buying the car! On the flip side I can't take it to many of the places I camp with my Jeep.

My advice to anyone considering buying a hybrid, is to buy a fuel efficient economy car instead. A new Prius costs ~$24k. You could purchase any number of economy cars for half the price, vehicles that get upwards of 30/38 mpg city/highway. Most people will NEVER realize a gas savings of $12k during the lifetime of owning their hybrid...

Now if you have the cash to burn and simply want to buy a hybrid to support the Green industry that's one thing, but if you are looking at buying one to save money you won't... unless you keep the vehicle for 10 years... the average consumer trades or buys a new/newer vehicle every 4-6 years... just something to consider.

I agree: spend money up front to buy fuel efficiency, but avoid the hybrids.

In my experience, decent fuel efficiency means driving an import. That's the unfortunate reality. The folks in Detroit/Windsor, I'm afraid, just don't get it: 40 USMPG is the minimum acceptable mileage rating, and 200,000 miles is the minimum acceptable operating life without major drivetrain repairs.

I was a Chev man for years and years, like my father before me. But since I always bought used, I bought an endless conveyor belt of repair bills, and finally had enough.

4-cylinder 5-speed Toyotas and Mazdas have served me remarkably well over the last decade. Always used, but gently used and well maintained. They see temperature ranges from -40C to +35C, snow and gravel roads, and are pretty much unstoppable.

I have a 91 Corolla with 365,000 km (over 220,000 miles) that is still going strong. Original engine etc. I gave it to my nephew for Christmas. If he takes care of it, it's good for another 100,000K.

Hey, seriously, if the Big Three finally get it together, I'll switch back. But I doubt that will happen in my lifetime. They're focussed on disposable cars and saturation marketing. Sad to say.

(FWIW, I'm still in love with Chevvys. A friend has a '28 coupe, all original and running, and it's simply a work of art. I'm wearing down his resistance to selling, slowly but surely.)

The Camry Hybrid has similar trim options to the XLE model. The current MSRP for it is only ~$200 more than the 2.4L model which has the same size gas engine while getting +12City/+3Hwy mileage. It is possible to get much better mileage than EPA numbers with it. I usually get +14/+6 or more without having changed my driving habits significantly. To get 30/38 mpg requires going to a smaller vehicle.

Edit:
The terrain will have a large impact on the mpg of a hybrid. Surprisingly some of the best I've gotten is in the mountains. Nothing is going to get good numbers going up and the hybrids use none coming down. Long gentle grades aren't the best. Going from school to home & back (~100 miles ea. way) I get about 43 highway going & 41 returning.

Edit 2: I was looking at the base price. For comparably equipped vehicles the Hybrid is cheaper than the 2.4L XLE.