I'm thinking of the CT more as an affordable hybrid that feels really good on the road. I'm essentially trading the gadgets and added space of the Prius with the driving dynamics of the CT. Some people would also argue that a Prius grade V is a $21k car that you have paid $31k for. As for Toyota, my iQ has equipment for more than half of its base price: Base price: $28k Maxed out (with discount $1k): $45k Doing the same with the CT would add more than the price of my loaded iQ onto it! Base CT: $76k CT lv. 5: $129k (My iQ and CT are in Europe. I have used the current exchange rate to USD) I have some reservations about paying more than $100k for a dressed up prius ;-)