I’d consider a several thousand dollar battery replacement cost during the useful lifetime of the car 7-10 years to be a deal killer for me. It would be the equivalent of an engine changeout cost.
I’m not saying hybrid owners are liberal, I just wouldn’t trust one (a hybrid)for the type of driving and distances I have to do. As for a totally all-electric car like the Volt, I wouldn’t even consider one for an instant.
I asked about the battery issue before I bought the first Prius. I have had no repair work done on either car, including no brake work with one car over 160K miles and the other over 115K miles. I suspect that batteries from wrecked Priuses are available now. In any event, the batteries are strong in both of the ones we have, well beyong the 100K mile warranty. I also suspect that the batteries don’t go all bad suddenly, but begin to lose their recharging power over time— like a cell phone. I may be corrected on that. But at 45-50MPG each, and at a purchase price of around $25K, it seems to be an all-around good deal to me.