It seems like people are going crazy over hybrids lately.  They talk about how much more efficient they are so they save money.  But, do they?

Ok, there is a bit of debate over if the hybrid is "better" for the Earth (they require massive batteries that wear out then need to be disposed of, and they don't get *that* good of gas mileage yet).  But, either way. there is a huge issue with if they are "cheaper".

The best example that I can think of is the Civic because they Honda has both the standard gas and hybrid versions.  To compare cars of the same trim levels, this is what the car will originally cost you (these are approximates because it depends on where you live):

Hybrid: $19,500
Standard: $16,000

So, you think: "That's only $3500, I can easily make that up in mileage!" right?  Wrong.  Let's look at the real deal:

Hybrid: It's 85hp gets you 46 to 51mpg
Standard:  It's 115hp gets you 32 to 38mpg

So, if we take the *best* rating for the Hybrid and the *worst* for the Standard, you get 51 with the Hybrid and 32 with the standard.  Seems like a lot, right?

Well, not really.  Let's see how many gallons of gas it takes you to go 150,000 (which is at the point that a lot of cars start needing serious maintenance):

Hybrid (51 mpg): 2941 gallons
Standard (32 mpg): 4687.5 gallons

Still thinking that is a huge difference, right?  Let's talk dollar value.  At the current, inflated, price of gas at $1.89 per gallon (current for where I live) that would cost you:

Hybrid: $5558.49
Standard: $8859.38

Still seems like a lot, right?  Well, the difference is $3301.  How much more did that Hybrid cost over the standard?  Oh..that's right.....$3500.  You still have a few thousand more miles before you break even, then after you replace the battery (that is supposed to last 10 years, but in real world studies lasts about 4 or 5) for $1,000 are you saving anything?  Plus, if anything goes wrong with the hybrid it costs more to fix.

There is a place for hybrids, though- SUV's.  It will bring them down to a more realistic mgp.  What will be lost?  A massive amount of horsepower.  If the civic lost 30hp on that small of a car, I shudder to think what is lost when the SUVs start rolling out with hybrids in them.