In my work taking pictures at Labadie Toyota in Bay City, MI I have driven a lot of Toyota Prius’.  But I had never taken on a longer trip.  Last night I was attending a posing workshop at David Birdsong Photography in Pontiac, MI and decided to put a 2011 Toyota Prius to the test.  The round trip was about 180 miles.  My car is a 2002 Buick Regal which gets a respectable 26 miles per gallon.  With my car this round trip would have cost me (gas this morning was $3.78) $26.17.  I only had to put 4 gallons of gas in the car after this trip for a cost of $15.12.  This is a one trip savings of $11.05.  And that was only one trip.  I figured I would do a little more math.

I drive an average of 20,000 miles per year.  With my 26 MPG Regal and this mornings gas prices that would be about $2,910 per year just in gas or $242 per month.  With the Toyota Prius my annual cost of gas could be around $1,680 or $140 per month.  I have been paying over $200 per month for a 10 year old car (that is almost paid off).  I could get a nice used Prius or lease a new one with a payment around $260.  With a $100 per month savings in gas I could lower my monthly expenditures!  Ok Toyota you have sold me on the Prius – where do I sign?  Oh yeah – Labadie Toyota.

If you want to take this test for yourself you can also rent a Prius at Labadie Toyota.  Visit the car rental website at www.labadierentacar.com