What the results mean
Annual fuel cost = annual miles ÷ US MPG × fuel price. Fuel savings = gasoline fuel cost minus hybrid fuel cost. Premium = hybrid purchase price minus gasoline purchase price, or the premium entered directly. N-year difference = N × annual fuel savings − purchase premium: positive favors the hybrid for purchase plus fuel, negative favors gasoline.
Simple break-even = premium ÷ positive annual savings. With no positive savings, a positive premium has no fuel-savings payback. A zero or negative premium is recovered at purchase; if fuel savings are negative, that initial advantage can shrink or reverse over time. Both vehicles use the same entered fuel price; this tool is unsuitable when they require different fuel prices.
Fuel savings are not total ownership savings
Excluded: financing, depreciation and resale, insurance, maintenance, taxes, incentives, changing fuel prices and the time value of money. Prices are user-entered illustrative assumptions, not current national prices or EPA purchase prices. Use measured MPG where possible; actual consumption varies from standardized EPA ratings.
Read the hybrid payback guide · Compare exact EPA configurations