There were three things that were not considered when this was article was written. And in the interest of full disclosure, I am an independent educator for Toyota in the Chicago region. I teach about hybrids in general, hybrid accident procedures for first responders, and advanced technology information.

1. The Corolla is not equal to the Prius. The closest vehicle to the Prius in the Toyota lineup is the Camry. This is comparable to saying the Civic Hybrid is equal to the Fit.

The Corolla is a compact vehicle, the Prius is a mid-size vehicle. The Prius actually has more usable space than the Corolla.

The Prius has more power than the Corolla (295 ft.lb. of torque in the Prius and torque is what gets a vehicle moving faster at any speed, not horsepower). The Corolla produces 128 ft.lb. for the 1.8 liter and 158 ft.lb. for the 2.4 liter, less than half the torque if you get the standard Corolla engine vs. the 2.4, which is the Camry engine, actually.

2. These comparisons always assume the Prius will not last long enough, in this case less than 200,000 miles.

In the nine, almost ten, years the Prius has been sold in the US there has never been an owner who has paid to replace the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) hybrid battery in a Prius. Anything else is myth.

There have been NiMH replaced because of accidents or owner abuse or modification, but no one has ever paid otherwise. Remember, the warranty is only for 8 years/100,000 miles or 10 years/150,000 miles, depending where you live in the US.

There are many Prius with well over 200,000 miles on them with no issues from the drivetrain. The current record I know of is a gen 2 Prius with over 360,000 miles using all the original hybrid powertrain.

Many of my friends with Prius have over 150-200,000 miles on them and have had no issues.

3. The Prius does not have a starter, alternator, mechanical power steering pump or steering belt, timing belt, and the brake pads should never need to replaced because of the regenerative braking system.

The Prius actually has less moving parts and less parts to wear than a standard vehicle, especially an older standard vehicle.

So while there may be more complex systems on the Prius, they are much stronger and last much longer than a standard vehicle.

The Prius actually costs about .11 cents per mile to maintain for each 100,000 miles of operation at a Toyota dealership. That .11 cents figures in gas at $4.00 a gallon, oil changes, new OEM tires, and all regularly scheduled maintenance.

I have not discussed the very real benefits to the environment when people switch to a full hybrid like the Prius. Those can be debated, but my standard response there is you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the scientists, researchers, mechanics, engineers, and all the rest of the very real people who own and drive these vehicles.

People may believe this is a propaganda campaign by a Toyota employee, but the facts speak for themselves. Yes, the Prius is not for everyone's driving situation. However, it is a very solid vehicle and does make a massive difference in the average driver's daily life.

Thank you! The amount of misinformation out there is astounding. Yes, you do have to change your driving habits a little so there is a learning curve if you want the best MPG. These changes will help with any car BTW.

If you're buying a Prius just for the MPG you may be disappointed. If you want the MPG with the benefit of putting less junk in the air then the Prius may be the car for you. Besides it's fun to drive.

One drawback is all the questions you get from people interested in how the Prius works, how much I like it etc. I don't mind though. I like to help dispel the rumors and misinformation.

On top of that, it's the first car I've ever owned where I've been offered more than I paid for it!

The closest vehicle to a Prius is the Echo, not the Camry.

The Echo and Prius have lots of space. So would a very large egg. The Corolla has more useful space. But that is a matter of opinion and is related to your personal preferences.

I like Toyotas, but lets be realistic here.

Why does the little Prius weigh about as much as the larger Camry?

When I Google battery failure in hybrids, I find stories that don't match your rosy scenario. I'm not saying that these are typical, but no battery lasts forever without maintenance issues. What is the cost to replace the batteries?

You don't mention why you teach first responders how to respond to a Prius accident. I know why.

How much does it cost Toyota to build a Prius? What is the profit margin compared to a Corolla? Is the Prius a loss-leader for the purpose of developing brand image?

With regards to your second point: we don't know if the Prius will generally last for 15 years/200,000 miles. They haven't been around long enough. So I think being skeptical on that point is reasonable. Granted, the Lantern should have pointed out that lack of data rather than making an assumption.

The fact that I don't know how long the Prius will last, or whether it's as reliable on average as a modern Corolla (which is about as fuel-efficient as the 80s incarnation of the Camry, AFAIK), is kind of a deterrent to me buying one.

Modern Corollas have about the best fuel efficiency on the market for a standard gasoline internal combustion engine car of it's size. Perhaps they won't best an old 5 speed 1600 cc coupe, but they get better than 30 MPG.

The fuel efficiency ratings on the new car stickers now reflect an updated formula that usually renders smaller numbers than the old formula did. This compensates for the fact that most Americans don't drive on flat roads in an ideal atmosphere.