(I am a car FREAK and know my cars inside and out.) I have an 89' Phantom R/T, (good luck finding someone on this forum that knows what that is).
So, on with the advice, IT'S LONG....
No go with the Prius. The hybrids batteries die, and then have to be replaced, which means $4000 down the drain, and all your gas "savings" is gone. Besides, the Prius gets about 44.6 MPG with average driving instead of the 60-70-80 MPG you hear about. Not much of an improvement over the 38 MPG that the Yaris or Echo gets. So, the Prius is not an effective alternative to a regular sole gas engined car. Neither is the Honda Insight.
BUT, that does NOT MEAN THAT I SUGGEST THE YARIS either. The Yaris incorperates the 1.5 Liter engine that is used in the Tercel and the Echo, which isn't exactly Toyota's strong point. The 1.5 liter cars are okay for durability and decent for gas savings. Usually they wear out around 100K, (if they haven't already had their share of problems), and just get worse over time. The Echo, Yaris, Tercel 1.5 cars are not the typical indestructable Toyotas. That's why their resale value is low.
I really suggest (sticking with Toyota) the Corolla. 37 MPG (not a huge difference form the Prius or Yaris), better resale value, better power, more features, more car, and best of all, it's a hell of a lot more reliable than the 1.5 cars. Corollas do have the track record for going 150, 200 and 250,000 miles, and they use a much better built 1.8 liter which gives off more power and torque.
Other suggestions, Mazda 3i or 3s (2nd best), Pontiac Vibe or Toyota Matrix. Ford Focus are solid cars but the MPG suffers from a powerful engine. Hyundai Accents (or Kia Rios) are decent cars for the money, but are unproven. Hyundai Elantras (Kia Spectras) are only acceptable with a Manual, but the MPG is subpar. Subaru Imprezas get only 26 MPG, but they have a lot of power for the car.
Do not get the: Honda Civic 06' (too many changes, so first year reliablility is poor), Volkswagen anything (horrible reliability), Nissan Sentra (below average reliability), Dodge Caliber (no resale value), or Chevy Cobalt (unreliable). That's just off the top of my head.
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