Is there any reason for me to not get a Prius?

Posted by joshua0005@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 106 comments

I'm 22 and I'm looking to buy my first car. Until now I've driven my parents' Toyota Sienna. However they don't allow me to go more than an hour away from our city and the MPG on the Sienna is horrendous so I'm looking to buy my own car.

Literally all I care about is getting from point A to point B with a high MPG and low maintenance costs and I don't want the car to cost more than $12k (preferably less). I don't care about fancy cars or if my car is ugly. Basically I want to spend as little on my car as possible when accounting for everything (cost of car, gas, insurance, maintenance, etc). I wouldn't even own a car if it weren't necessary here in the US.

Are there any cars that are better for me? Here a used Prius costs $8k to $12k. I know I could get a different beater for $5k or less but the MPG would likely be much lower so the Prius seems more worth it to me because it will eventually pay for itself