Though this may not be the car in your garage, hybrid cars have evolved to enable substantial reduction in fuel consumption and pollution. They receive their power from a regular gasoline engine and a battery powered electric motor. They offer high mileage by balancing the load on the engine and with some hybrids the energy that is otherwise lost in brakes, is actually recovered.

For instance, Toyota’s Prius, the best selling hybrid car, gets 48 miles per gallon in the city and 45 mpg on the highway, which is a lot better than the similar-sized Corolla (28/37 mpg).

Toyota Prius has an internal combustion engine that runs on gas and an electric engine that is powered by a Ni-MH battery pack that has an expected life of 150,000 miles. The electric engine ensures negligible sound and zero pollution.

Chevy Volt

Chevrolet Volt that will be priced under $30,000 and is expected to hit the streets sometime in 2010. The difference with the Volt and most other hybrids is that the gas engine is used only to charge the batteries as apposed to the current hybrids that have both gas and electric motors working together. You can expect to get as high as several hundred mpg on longer commutes or zero gas if your commutes are shorter then 40 miles.

Real Mileage Database on Hybrids*

Examples of newer hybrids getting over 30 mpg in city driving:
2009 Toyota Prius $22,000 – 48city/45hwy
2009 Honda Civic Hybrid $23,550 – 40city/45hwy,
2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid $26,650 – 35city/33hwy,
2009 Ford Escape Hybrid $29,305 – 34city/31hwy
2009 Mazda Tribute Hybrid $28,175 – 34city/30hwy
2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid $26,150 – 33city/34hwy

Compare Used Hybrids:
2004 Honda Insight $13,000 – 48city/58hwy
2004 Toyota Prius $16,900 – 48city/45hwy
2004 Honda Civic Hybrid $14,900 – 39city/43hwy

Camry Hybrid

Sources from:
Pricing - ebay.com and edmunds.com
EPA MPG - fueleconomy.gov
*Real Hybrid Mileage Chart - greenhybrid.com