Have you leased a hybrid vehicle?

I've received several e-mails regarding leasing hybrid cars, or more precisely, the inability to lease hybrids. Even when a lease is offered, the terms of the lease are simply ridiculous.

Yesterday, Scott e-mailed me and told me that he tried to lease a Mercury Mariner hybrid, after putting a downpayment on the next Mariner hybrid to arrive at his dealer. When it arrived, the dealer would only lease it at an extremely high rate.

When I've shopped for hybrids in the Los Angeles area, my dealers wouldn't offer a lease on either the Toyota Highlander hybrid or the Toyota Prius if they had any available on the lot. I've also encountered hints that greasing the hands of the salesperson could get me into a Prius quicker.

I'll be test driving the new Civic hybrid soon and will check into a lease on that vehicle.

Have you had a similar experience?