Nothing I’ve seen indicates “4-6 years” for batter life. Where’d you get this?
Agree; battery life in taxi service (a very tough service) is at least 200,000-300,000 miles. Denman is probably referring the life of a standard 12 volt car battery, which is often replaced at that interval. Toyota warrants the battery for 7 years, so that would mean many free replacements if life was only 4-6 years.
Having said that, every driver needs to work out the economics by himself. I do not drive enough and I would probably not make a Prius pay for itself in less than 12 years.
I have a 2005 Prius, 4 1/2 years old, 123,000 miles - the battery failed! The $4,000 replacement cost for a 8 year/100,000 mile battery adds a new calculation to a decision to buy a Prius. If I lived in California or 11 other states, the battery would have a 10 year/150,000 warranty and be replaced by warranty. Try as I may, Toyota will not respond to the warranty difference for the same battery. Any ideas?