batteries don't work very well in the cold, so you probably won't be achieving the advertised fuel economy.

Be aware of having a $6k bill for a new battery after about a decade.

I owned a 2013 prius, and honestly it was a great car.

However, The corolla and camry get terrific MPG even without hybrid, about 40 or higher. You might save $2000 after you drive 100k miles.

Toyota makes a solid hybrid, but the fact is they have more expensive components that can break. Super cold weather also seems to affect the hybrids more so than regular ICE.

This was from fueleconomy.gov and I saw the same figures on several other sites, FWIW.

To Hybrid or Not To Hybrid

I personally like hybrids. At the same time, I don’t think a hybrid is for everyone. It may fit your needs, it may not.

I have a 2004 Toyota Prius, that has 299,999+ miles. It’s been an amazing vehicle.  The battery did need to be changed at 275,000 miles.

Hybrids in general are a more complex system.  There is an Internal Combustion Engine.  There is an Electric Motor.  There is an eCVT which figures out the power it is is getting from the ICE and/or Electric Motor to transfer to the wheels.  There is the cooling systems, systems with an s, one for the ICE, one for the Electric Motor. And of course, there is the biggest concern, the hybrid battery (traction battery).

At the same time, with all the complexity, the vehicle is somewhat simplified.  There is no stand alone starter. There is no stand alone alternator. The Electric Motor acts as both starter and the alternator. On top of all that, when the ICE is on, the energy generated never* gets wasted like when a traditional ICE car is sitting in idle. And on top of all that, the electric motor / eCVT help slow down the car when it regenerates electricity, also saving wear and tear on the actual brakes.

Drivetrain technology aside, the question returns to how much will one be spending on repairs and maintenance on the life of the vehicle, as compared to the ICE.

Here is a spreadsheet that attempts to give a good idea of the break even mileage.  How many miles would one need to drive the car, given the price of the vehicles, the price of gas? (We can even add an expected maintenance cost as well).

This spreadsheet is for the RAV4 gas vs hybrid, but the logic works similar for any hybrid.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-bVho8e_wwS-9oU_et-SPaqGYyqXH0ZTX7-euJiKRCk/edit?usp=sharing

One tab just takes the averages of highway and city MPG. The other tab, provides 5 different scenarios as a mental exercise.

My general recommendation just guestimating (I haven’t delved too deeply) at the spreadsheet data, generally speaking, to get the best bang for your buck, either with a hybrid or ICE RAV4.

Get the ICE RAV4:

If you plan on owning the car for less than 100,000 miles.

If you plan on driving nearly 100% on the freeway.

If you only drive your car around 5,000 miles per year. (Hybrids don’t like to sit around, they need to be exercised.)

Get the Hybrid RAV4:

If you plan on owning the car for more than 100,000 miles.

If you plan on driving 100% city, 75% city, 50% city, 25% city.

If you drive a ton per year, especially stop and go traffic.

Get either:

If you plan on owning it more than 200,000 miles. (While you will save on gas, it may equal out in terms of changing the battery. Most of the Prius stories I hear seems to be able to get at least ~225,000 out of it.  Some less mileage, most folks more.)

Depends only on "Are you buying new?" and "How long are you planing on keeping it?"

Assuming you're buying a new car and plan on keep it for under 10 years, a Corolla 1.8L hybrid makes more sense and is more reliable and can last for more miles (not years) than a 2.0L Corolla.

The cold will reduce efficiency and performance, but it should not reduce the total lifetime of the batteries.

Toyota Hybrids still have "meh" efficiency compared to their competition but they're definitely more reliable!

I will add that if you do a lot of driving and mainly city driving it can be worth to own a hybrid (the same reason many ride share drivers own hybrid cars). But if you're not going to be doing that kind of driving then yeah just stick with a gasoline only car. If going gasoline only you might want to consider the new Civic too (two first trims come with naturally aspired engines). I chose the Civic over a Corolla when I was buying a car last year because the interior is more roomy and it really doesn't feel like a small sedan.