 Researching The Cost:I researched and test drove many vehicles, including Ford Fusion Hybrid, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid,Lexus Hybrids, Honda Hybrids and even some fuel efficient Buicks.I considered that if I was going to get a car that had great gas mileage, then the sticker price had also better make sense.I didnt want to pay an extra $8k for a car that would save me only $2k in fuel costs.So, it had to make sense base upon sticker price, residual value and fuel economy.The Passat came out ahead because the car was less expensive than the others (even loaded), and had an acceptable high fuel economy. 