When I was trying to lease a car during past spring, I did not even consider a hybrid because the initial cost is so high, even with all the tax incentives I was going to get. So no surprise then that like most Americans, I ended up leasing a regular SUV. I knew that we must look at the total cost of ownership of a vehicle over time and this chart below (from Union of Concerned Scientists) demonstrates that if you buy and use an automobile for 15 years and drive like an average American, a good hybrid is much cheaper. My concern is that unless you take excellent care of your vehicle, 15 is a very long time. While I am not as spoiled as many Americans who dump their cars after 100K, I find that once you have driven a car for about 7 years, it can give you a lot of trouble. So it might very well be that a regular gasoline powered car might be cheaper for you as well, but this research is useful.
