Which Hybrids Make Financial Sense?

Hilary — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:45:18 +0000

Another criticism of hybrid cars? They are too expensive to offer a real savings, but one study is showing that 5 models make environmental AND economical sense. The following five cars provide a return on their investment before being sold (given an average of 15,000 miles per year):

1. Toyota Camry Hybrid
2. Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid
3. Nissan Altima Hybrid
4. Toyota Prius
5. Honda Civic Hybrid

The study by NADAguides.com also provided the number of miles each model would have to drive before breaking even, broken down by metropolitan area (and current gas prices).

Los Angeles ($4.59 per gallon)

Camry hybrid vs. Camry XLE – 18,292 miles
Malibu hybrid vs. Malibu LT – 32,206 miles
Altima hybrid vs. Altima 2.5 S – 37,580 miles
Prius vs. Camry LE – 41,626 miles
Civic hybrid vs. Civic LX – 57,216 miles