Here's the truth about buying a hybrid:

You need to drive 20,000 miles per year for it to pay off. And don't buy one unless you're ALREADY planning to spend more than $20,000 on a car.

Having said that, I can testify that everything about the Civic Hybrid is fine -- comfort, power, and mpg. After 10 months and 21,000 miles, I have no regrets, and I'm averaging 47 mpg.

see here: http://www.elementownersclub.com/for...ad.php?t=43671

The Kansas winter will cost you about 5 mpg; maybe less if you drive mostly on the highway. The main enemy to mpg is speed. Keep it below 65 miles per hour, and you'll do fine.

I don't know if Honda still offers 2.9% financing, but it was a big factor in my purchase decision. If I had to pay 5% or 6% on $23,000, I might have said no.

The hybrid income tax credit was another big factor. Getting $2,100 cash back from the federal government made my purchase much easier. But this year, the HCH only gets a $1,000 credit. So that's another consideration.

The bottom line is that buying a hybrid is definitely NOT a 'no brainer.' You need to crunch a lot of numbers and decide whether that kind of car fits your specific needs.

Plenty of cars today get 35 mpg, and cost a lot less than a hybrid.
.