How much money on gas is saved on a prius?

alot if you can handle the ugly car design

Assume 10,000 miles per year.

Prius = 222 gallons of gas (45 mpg)
other small car = 333 gallons (30 mpg)

You save $305 per year (if gas is $2.75)

I change all my lightbulbs in my house to compact florescence. I save about $5/month or $60/year

the prius acheives it high mpg rating by using low rolling resistence tires. these tires have a very short life, just like the car.

what you save in gas will not cover the extra cost in replacing these tires. then dont forgett the high maintenance these cars require. that is also very costly.

It depends, but here are the actual numbers for my 2004 Prius:

2004 Prius MPG from the logbook. (Complete calendar years only):
2003-2004 — 50.8 mpg 17,628 miles
2005 — 52.6 mpg 14,688 miles
2006 — 56.3 mpg 16174 miles
2007 — 57.3 mpg 18384 miles
2008 — 59.9 mpg 21755 miles
2009 — 61.4 mpg 16177 miles

Amount paid for gas every 12 months:

Gas — Amount paint for gas.
Miles — Miles driven during the period.
$/mile — Amount paid / miles driven

12 months prior to Oct 2004
Gas: $466.13 Miles: 13,333 $/mile: $0.0350
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $559.37

12 months prior to Oct 2005
Gas: $686.77 Miles: 16,631 $/mile: $0.0413
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $660.71

12 months prior to Oct 2006
Gas: $708.38 Miles: 14,716 $/mile: $0.0481
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $770.19

12 months prior to Oct 2007
Gas: $825.08 Miles: 17,963 $/mile: $0.0459
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $734.92

12 months prior to Oct 2008
Gas: $889.01 Miles: 15,855 $/mile: $0.0561
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $897.14

12 months prior to Oct 2009
Gas: $774.33 Miles: 20,641 $/mile: $0.0375
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $600.23

12 months prior to Oct 2010
Gas: $613.65 Miles: 14,589 $/mile: $0.0421
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $673.00

As of October 14, 2010 fill
Gas: $26.00 Miles: 644 $/mile: $0.0404
Cost of gas based on 16,000 miles: $645.96

Note that the new crop of low rolling resistance tires have high mileage expectations. An example of these new tires is the Nokian eNTYRE which has a UTQG treadwear rating of 700 http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=99244&group=1.02&name=Nokian+eNTYRE

In addition, the Prius does not get most of it’s mpg from the tires. Most of the additional fuel economy comes from sizing the engine for steady state driving rather than for acceleration. More details on how the Prius works can be found here: http://www.ecrostech.com/prius/original/PriusFrames.htm Even though this site talks about the 2001 Prius, the basic way things work remain the same. Only the specific numbers have changed.