Originally Posted by Shek

Two points:

1. Don't forget to discount the future dollars that you save to determine if you end up ahead or not. A dollar saved a few years down the road is not the same as the dollar spent today since that future dollar will be worth less. In other words, you have to save more dollars on gas not spent than what you spent on the hybrid "premium" just to break even.

2. An electric car will use the batteries more intensely than a hybrid will, and so the same battery will last a shorter time in an electric car. Of course, for an electric car to be cost effective, the batteries will have to have a long life, so looking at today's battery life probably isn't the best measuring stick, although it is a start point.