Does Buying a Hybrid Car Make Cents?

The hybrid versus the non hybrid. It is something I think about often because we all know that a hybrid makes better sense environmentally but it become unclear when you consider the economics. For years I have wrestled with justifying a hybrid purchase and not been able to do so. It all comes down to how much money you are willing to put behind your green ideals and theoretically we might all like to think we could put our money where our mouth is but some of us just don’t have the money to do so. Sadly hybrids are out of reach for a great many people. Thus they have to choose the best car they can with the resources they have and that is unlikely to be a hybrid, as shown by this infographic below.

What do you think? When you have a limited budget can you justify the purchase of a hybrid over a regular sedan with great fuel economy?