I was in a similar situation, driving a Vette and wanting a hybrid. I was going to trade the Vette in on a Civic hybrid but ended up keeping both. They are very different cars just as the 8 and the new HCH are very different as well. Surely the HCH will get better mileage but I doubt the gas savings alone would justify the purchase. Have you looked at the database? The new HCH has bounced between 45 and 49 mpg average, right now it is at 46. If you are going to lead foot it around town, missing your 8 then you will get less. If you drive average you will get 46 and if you baby it and use our tricks you could get much more. You should estimate the way you plan to drive and how many miles you drive and do some math on how much you would save on gas. I'll rough out a quick estimate for you assuming 20mpg for your Mazda, assuming 46 for the Honda, and assuming 12,000 miles a year with gas at $2.50 a gallon. According to my assumptions you are currently using 600 gallons of gas a year at a cost of $1500.00. If you purchased the Honda you would use 261 gallons at a cost of $652.50 for a savings of $847.5 per year. If you drive less or if gas goes down you savings would be less. If you drive more or if gas costs more your savings would be more.