There are many factors to consider when deciding on the purchase of a hybrid Toyota.  On the surface, one may automatically believe that due to the gas savings, the overall expense of a hybrid is more economical than an economy car, but that is not necessarily the case.

The average gas savings during the life of a hybrid car is reported to be approximately $2,500 which doesn’t even make up for the inflated cost of the vehicle.  There are also reportedly 30%  less emissions from hybrids.

Due to the fact that there are 2 engines, there is more maintenance that is required and service centers have jacked up prices on maintenance on hybrids simply because the engines are a new concept.

It is reported that if you live in a city with a lot of hills, like San Francisco or Seattle, then your city fuel savings may be obsolete as the battery in a hybrid does not function very efficiently on steep hills, so that even though the overall gas savings is reportedly 20-25% in a hybrid over a car with a conventional engine, that may or may not be the case. If you do mostly city driving, even without hills, the gas savings is reduced to 10-15% because most of the fuel economy occurs during highway driving.

Another pitfall is the immense expense of replacing the battery.  Although some factories offer an extended warranty on their hybrid models, if you do have to absorb the cost of replacement of the battery, you can be in it for up to $4,500.00.  This is not a car for someone who lives within a tight budget.

With the new electric cars that are coming out on the market soon that can be charged for up to 300 miles at a time (with the average cost of a full charge being $4), the wait may be worth it particularly if you notoriously put mostly city miles on your vehicle.

Many states are offering buying incentives such as tax benefits to help to encourage buyers and to offset the inflated prices of the vehicles.

So all in all, the hybrid may not be the car for every driver, there are many websites that you can access to do your homework before making a quick uninformed decision.  You have plenty of time because the average wait can be up to six months.