If one is driving long freeway runs a Prius is not going to be better than a Diesel Beetle or Jetta.
According to fueleconomy.gov a 2007 Prius will get 48 city and 45 highway. My Wife's beetle will get 35 and 44. Now that is according to the ratings. My wife's beetle has only been down to 35.5 MPG twice and that was on winter fuel. The thing has averaged 39 mpg for a year now. Would a Prius get better mileage? Probably. Is it a a diesel? No and I happen to like diesels. Does the Beetle get better mileage than the 5.4 F150 we traded away? Heck yeah. Did my wife want a beetle and not a Prius? Yes. So my options were 2.0 n/a gas dog, 1.8T or TDI. The TDI gets the best mileage of those three.
Personally I keep vehicles for MANY years. I'd really like to know the long term costs of the electric motor in the Hybrids.
Over 100,000 miles here is what it will cost to operate the beetle per mile as it stands right now.
Fuel cost $0.081 per mile
Timing Belt $0.011 per mile (Needs changed every 100,000 miles just had it done)
Tires $0.01 per mile (50,000 miles at $500 per set)
Oil changes are lifetime on this car from the dealer.
So I'm looking at $0.102 per mile to operate. I'd REALLY love to see what a Prius will cost per mile over the 100,000 miles
One last thing. If I spent just a little money the Beetle COULD run on Veg oil or home brew bio diesel. After the initial investment was paid off with the savings I could drive the operating costs down even further.