Bang for the Buck

If you think that buying a hybrid vehicle will guarantee your best bang for your pocketbook, you may be surprised to learn that it isn't always the case. This is a combination of both EPA gas mileage and purchase price for the vehicle.

Consumers Reports found that the Honda Fit did better:

Drawing on a price that's under $16,000 and good fuel economy in the low-to-mid 30's, both versions of the Honda Fit we've tested topped the list. That shows that you can pay more for a car with higher gas-mileage numbers (such as the Toyota Prius), but you won't necessarily get better fuel economy for the buck.

If you want a roomier car than the subcompact Fit, several compact cars made the list, including the Mazda3, Honda Civic, and Hyundai Elantra. And, despite their higher cost, three hybrids-two versions of the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid-made the list, based on stellar fuel economy results.

The lowest price per mpg in our analysis came from the Toyota Yaris and Hyundai Accent with manual transmissions ($370 and $425, respectively). But because they scored too low in our tests to be recommended, they didn't make the cut. Which cars are highest? With the Dodge Viper SRT10 and Mercedes-Benz SL550, you'll pay more than $6,000 for every mile-per-gallon. And you'll have to feed these engines requiring Premium fuel, as well.

The car I drive, a Toyota Corolla LE gets very respectable gas mileage, but didn't make the top 10 cut. This all goes to the notion that people think that they can save money by trading in or buying a hybrid, when in fact they may end up paying more out of pocket costs by going to a hybrid than buying a conventionally powered vehicle based on the higher initial costs for such vehicles over their conventionally powered peers.

There are some other factors that aren't necessarily clear from the article - the cost per gallon as figured by Consumers Reports, and whether there is a price point at which it becomes better to get the hybrid. I suspect that we're not quite at that price point yet.