While the constructions costs for a new place might be reasonable - in the end, all you're doing is running either tubing or electrical heating elements under the cement/asphalt - there are a few other things that come to mind:
(1) Heating costs will be insane in some places. When I lived in Syracuse, we got ~200" of snow several of the years I was there, and I wasn't there all that long. The cost to melt that much snow (i.e., to keep the driveway warm enough as that much fell) would be quite large. And that's assuming you only had it heated as it was snowing, and no other liquid (melt that refroze) got onto it. And that's every year (some years get less snow, but a year with less than 100" of snow in Syracuse is exceptional).
(2) If it's liquid-based and breaks (tree roots, etc) you have to dig up the whole thing.
(3) If it's electrically-based and breaks, likewise, since you probably won't know where the break is.
(4) Plowing costs less than $200/year, often much less, in most places.
(5) Even if you had that driveway, plows push tons of it onto the ends of your driveway.
