Buying into the save money hype. v.hybrids

I have always felt that it is a MUCH smarter move to buy a fuel efficent 4 cyclinder car if you are concerned about MPG then a Hypebrid. A buddy of mine was buying a car for his fiancee and he was considering the Prius as an option. The car cosr $35K, NO haggling, take it or leave it. I don’t know if this is correct or not, but he said that you got a tax credit for 4 or 5 years, something goofy like $1200 or $1500 a year. Big deal, so that brings the car down to $30K for a Prius that is going to “save” you money. I’d just get a Focus if I wanted a cheap fuel efficient car without paying the $29832490683490168 for a hybrid. Thats just me though.