Conclusion

So I turned in the Prius yesterday and got my convertible back. As great as the Prius was, I missed driving with the top down and the wind in my hair. So now here's the big question, will I get a Prius? Well a hybrid yes, Prius, I still need to think about it.
During this week long test drive I averaged about 40 MPG both city and highway but I had the AC on to ice cold most of the time, plus it's the hottest time of the year, so I'll assume my yearly MPG would be around 42. My current car has an MPG of about 21. With the current gas rate, I'm looking to save about $750 on gas everyyear.
If I were to get a new car with a V4 right now I'll be paying about $15,000. According to the Toyota website and ads, the Prius ranges from $20,000 to $27,000. Since the car was unbelievablity quiet, I'll take off another $2,000 for the price. That means I will have to drive the car for 4 to 17 years before the savings in gas become apparent. But according to the latest line of Prius's, the MPG has improved to 51/48 plus there's solar panels, not to mention that I live in Southern California, (Sunshine is all we have left) the wait is probably only 4 to 10 years.
Here is the main thing that I didn't like about the Prius, it was a hatchback, and according to the website, they're all hatchbacks. I'm not exactly a big fan of hatchbacks. If Toyota would make a new line of hybrids that weren't hatchbacks this wouldn't be in the equation.
As I mentioned, my parents also seemed to be fans of the Prius, but here's another factor, we're Honda people. My first car was a 1986 Acura Legend and my parent's current car is a 2002 Honda Accord. In the past we have owned 2 Toyotas and a Buick, the Honda is currently our favorite, although Toyota isn't that far behind. Especially with my Acura, we know that Hondas last long. I went to check out Honda's hybrids. There's the Honda Civic and the Honda Insight, we've had our eyes on the Insight, which has a starting price of $20,000.
So what is my conclusion. For me, at the very least I see myself driving my Nissan convertible for at least another 5 years. I want to drive it throughout medical school. For my parents, the Honda has at least another 50,000 or five years left. Hopefully in the next five years the competition for hybrids will be so great that the prices won't be that much greater and the MPG will be much better. The whole solar panel idea is really intriguing so hopefully at least Honda will have incorporated the idea by then.