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Originally Posted by Tim
As previously noted, it really depends on what you want. Speaking in very general terms, any hybrid that is not an Insight/Prius/Civic may only return marginal increases in gas mileage compared to their regular counterparts. So for the Accord Hybrid and the hybrid SUVs, you may never recover the additional cost of the hybrid through gas savings. That leaves making an environmental decision, which is still a great reason. If you need a vehicle that's larger (Accord) or an SUV (Escape, Highlander, Lexus), I think the decision to go hybrid is more green than economic. Possible exception is the Escape, as it would be the most affordable of the bunch.
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Now now, don't be too harsh on them. There's a lot of variables at play. If one were to only drive 2000 miles a year, and own it for three years, there isn't a hybrid that you'd save tremendous money on.
If you drive 11 thousand miles or more a year, and own it for 10 years, you're going to come out several thousand ahead (5K or so), even assuming static gas prices and the price difference between the Escape hybrid and the Escape.
Additionally, it seems that the larger the vehicle, the greater the fuel savings can be. As I've said, the Escape hybrid gets 263% the fuel economy of a V8 Escape (driven similar styles over similar commutes), compared with the 35% or so difference between a civic hybrid and a civic. (My last tank was 33.2 MPG, my friend and his V8 Escape was 12.4 MPG, just for example.)
Now, on the other hand, if you plan on having it for five years or so, then perhaps the Escape Hybrid or some of the other hybrids aren't going to save much, if any money.
X-Cel pretty much covered the bases, it depends on what you're looking for and what you want/need it to do, and of course, what you want to get.