No one likes paying for gas, but at the same time, not everyone is ready or in a position to go full-electric. Hybrids offer a tempting middle ground between gas-only and electric-only that promises better fuel economy without the need to find a spot to charge. Typically, though, you’re paying more for the hybrid version, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll make your money back right out of the gate.
So from a financial perspective, which hybrids are worth buying, and which ones should you probably skip? Our friends at Consumer Reports recently published a list of the seven hybrids that should come with the quickest payoff, as well as three that take the longest. To get to their final ranking, they estimated $3.40 a gallon for regular and $4.20 for premium fuel, as well as yearly mileage of 12,000 miles.
Because of that, if you live somewhere with more expensive gas or drive more, your payoff period will be shorter than CR’s estimate. Still, it should give you a good general idea of whether or not it’s worth it to go with the hybrid version of any particular car. Let’s take a look at what made the final list.
