Hybrid technology is here to stay.It really works.Great mileage like a little economy car with the size and power of a bigger car.Who wouldn’t want that?

Well maybe you wouldn’t. It really depends on your needs and how many miles you drive every week/year. Here is the problem. Hybrid technology costs money. You will pay more for a hybrid car like a Prius when you buy it. Couple that with supply and demand issues that have kept the dealers from discounting the sales on Prius and the car could easily cost 5-10 thousand dollars more then a car with a conventional powertrain.

“But think about what it will save in gas every week?” you say. Sure every day you will save money at the pump. Just how much is the question. I drove a 2008 Prius this weekend that I rented from Enterprise rent-a-car. I drove 130 miles through the mountains and freeways around San Jose and Santa Cruz. Average gas milage was 40.8 MPG. That’s pretty good considering that I drove it pretty hard. Someone else probably would have gotten more.

I regularly drive a Camry that gets about 20 MPG. So for the sake of this discussion lets say the Prius gets twice as many MPG. Great you say. But let us also say that the Prius cost $5000 more. Add sales tax of 9.75% (Los Angeles) bringing the total difference to $5488.

With gas at $3.50 per gallon and 20 MPG (Camry) that comes out to $.18 cents a mile for the Camry. Half of that at 40MPG for the Prius equals $.09 cents a mile.

Sooooo, the Prius will have to go 60977 miles before it saves $5488.00 worth of gas in comparison to the Camry. 5488 divided by .09 cents a mile = 60977 miles.

In other word if you drive 10000 miles a year it will take 6 years before you break-even and the Prius starts saving you money. Hummm? If you drive only short trips and your annual mileage is say 5000 miles, it could take 12 years to reach the pay off.

Now then, suppose that you drive the car for business and put on 30000 mile a year. Well, that is a whole different matter. You’re ahead of the cost in just two years. But even then, don’t expect immediate savings. The value of a hybrid comes along slowly and really is only worth while if you are a high mileage driver.

Think about that before you buy.