Are you ready for a hybrid?

Hybrids cost more than their conventional counterparts because of the added electric motor and the batteries. That premium ranges from $1,500 on the Silverado pickup to about $4,500 on the Lexus and Highlander SUVs, and about $2,500 to $3,500 on the others. That's only the beginning: The newfound popularity of hybrids has prompted carmakers to perch them at the top of the line, fully loaded with "standard equipment" such as premium cloth or leather upholstery, third-row seats, or four-wheel drive. Want them or not, you'll still have to pay for them to get the hybrid.

If you're looking to make that up by saving a buck or two at the pump, the economics have always been iffy, but soaring gas prices are altering that. Start with tax savings: For me, the federal one-time deduction of $2,000 for clean-fuel cars translates to a combined $623 savings on my 2004 federal and California income taxes. Some states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, New York, and Utah offer more generous tax credits, or they exempt the car from sales taxes. Next, figure out how much you'll save in fuel based on how much you drive and what price you pay for gas. (You can go to mixedpower.com, a Web site for hybrid owners, to find an online calculator for this.) With regular gasoline now averaging more than $2.60 a gallon in California, I would have to drive a Honda Accord for about six years to make up the premium I paid for the hybrid. Higher gasoline prices will shorten that payback period.

Interactive Turning wheels The evolving engine

You can maximize your savings by picking the hybrid that best matches the kind of driving you do. All hybrids shut down the gasoline engine when you're stopped, either in traffic or at a stoplight. But the Ford and Toyota systems can use the electric motor to drive the car, so they can go without the gas engine at low speeds. The result? Unlike most cars, the best fuel economy is in city driving instead. That's just the ticket if you spend much of your life in stop-and-go traffic. Honda hybrids, on the other hand, use their electric motor to give a little extra boost to the gas engine, when you need it for accelerating, for example. That lets you get by with a smaller engine so you'll save gas on longer trips at cruising speeds.

It's hard to put a price on some of the perks of driving a hybrid. What would you pay for unlimited access to car-pool lanes, as in Virginia, or not having to feed parking meters, as in San Jose, Calif.? Another intangible: Better fuel economy also means you can go farther between trips to the gas station.

The downside? The batteries that power the electric motor cost thousands. And they'll eventually have to be replaced. Trouble is, hybrids are too new to say when. But right now, they're warrantied, along with the rest of the hybrid system, to go eight years or 100,000 miles.

That's not much of a risk. If you're shopping for a car, or even if you're not, maybe it's time to take a hybrid out for a spin. You'll find yourself driving along the cutting edge of the car business.