U.S. calculations here, but I made a chart comparing a Saturn, which I could acquire for ~$3000 vs. a Civic Hybrid Gen1 and a Prius Gen 2.
Total cost of ownership includes fuel cost (rising at $0.20/year) and value lost to depreciation. Spreadsheet assumes all cars would be a cash purchase.
y = $Cost of Ownership
x = years of ownership
I made it a flexible spreadsheet, so I can post it if anyone would like to look at it. There are very few cars you could put in that cost less to own after a couple years than a Prius.