In our analysis, only two of the six hybrids we have tested recovered their price premium in the first five years and 75,000 miles of ownership (see Hybrids vs. all gas). The Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid provide a savings of about $400 and $300, respectively, over that period. But that is only if buyers are able to take advantage of limited federal tax credits. Extra ownership costs over five years for the other four models ranged from about $1,900 to $5,500, compared with those of similar all-gas models.

Consumer Reports update

My perspective: Fuel consumption varies directly with vehicle weight. If a hybrid car gets 26 mpg better fuel economy than another subcompact, it can easily be shown that a 13 mpg portion of that improvement is due to weight reduction. If Consumer Reports loaded a hybrid car with bricks so that it weighed exactly the same as a conventional subcompact car, and then compared the fuel consumption benefits of hybrid cars, they would again have to revise their benefits numbers downwards.