Comparison Test: 2012 Toyota Yaris Vs. 2012 Toyota Prius c

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by tk1971

I don't think most people blindly buy the "Eco-friendly" bit. I think most people just like to get new cars. I know every time a friend or family member gets a new car, I get all antsy and start looking at new cars. Most of the time, I beat back those urges because of the simple fact that what I have is good enough.

I think the Eco-friendly / high MPG boast of the newest hybrids give people that final push to convince themselves that they NEED a new car, just like higher HP or AWD for others. Sure, one can sit down and do very simple calculations to show that spending tens of thousands of dollars for a $10-30 savings per fill up can net a break even point of about a decade or more, but that's not what its all about.

I'm talking from experience here, because that's what happened to me. The wife got a new car and I ended up buying one too because of new-car-itis.

As for the $10k 40mpg+ econo-box... Nissan has a $10k Versa Sedan that's about $11k-$12k. I believe there is a Kia that is around the same price range, so they are out there.

....I think most people have a thing that they have an 'itis' about. For a fair number of people it's 'new-car-itis'. For me it isn't cars, it's traveling for pleasure. Whenever I hear that someone has traveled to some place that I haven't been to but sounds interesting, I want to know more. I do a little reading and sometimes am able to incorporate it into an already planned trip. A friend of mine here heard I was taking a trip to Florida for the opening of Marlins Park. She had planned a relative's wedding on Captiva Island and she told me I had to go there. I made sure I did go Captiva Island, and it was great.