Here is more on the topic:

in the midwest Premium is generally 93 Octane--In AZ and Ca it drops to 91 (might have something to do with altitude but I am not sure).

in Northern Wisconsin (and other places I bet) you can get pure non ethanol premium--try that in your car and you get better performance and about 8-10% better fuel economy. But the "pure" gas is not available all over.

I once tried racing fuel in my vette-no noticable diff with 100 octane.

in a fuel shortage, its nice to know the car will run efficiently on any grade.

 

I used to remember that, in North East areas (Maine or even further north), 91 octane is also quite common!?

 

Agree with Hal56 on the pure gas part.

 

Most common around here is: 87, 89 & 93, with about .10-.13 jumps between the grades.

 

Same grades down here in GA with .15 between each one.

 

When we took a 450 mile (each way) trip to Toronto back in December (450h was just 5 weeks old) I started with a tank of 93 octane pure gas and averaged 27.5 mpg on the trip. Each time I refilled I had to use 91 octane with 10% ethanol (that is in most stations here also) and averaged 25.5 mpg on the return trip.

 

From a finical standpoint I cannot justify the extra cost of the hybrid based on those kinds of numbers, not even close. The technology just isn't there yet.

 

the justification of hybrid is when we have a situation where there are actual shortages of gasoline --ala 1973--granted if the 350 gets say ~23 overall-it is "only" a 5-6 MPG difference--but that becomes huge

also, I played games a few months ago when I was in a neighborhood and drove several miles at around 20 MPH steady--mileage was unbelievable--40's.

If we got to extraordinary hi prices or rationing--you better believe there wil be fewer cars on road and those on the road will not be speeding or jackrabbit starts etc.

I am in Florida for a while and gasoline is 2.85 to 3.15--

 

True the (h) costs a little more but the additional cost is not just for mileage. It's a jump up in technology, features, model and trim, plus the power difference is almost like a turbocharger. The mileage is a bonus on top. The batteries and (h) power-train components are warranted longer than most folks will keep it. A very large portion of the additional cost comes back in resale.

I drove a 350 a couple of weeks ago as a loaner but had the same 19" Michelin's and though it drove good, it didn't (IMO) drive as good.

Bottom line while it costs a little more, it's justified for most of us that spent it.

For the record, while my mileage has dropped from the 30 range to about 28.5, it's winter plus I'm driving it more aggressively than when I 1st got it.

 

I have driven an h as a loaner. I didn't get that "turbo" feel you describe, but I'm not looking for that in an SUV, so I was not disappointed. Counting on future resale is like forecasting the weather, plus it would have to be a great difference to make up for the original purchase price. So far I have not seen that big difference in the used h market in my area.
If you want to justify the h by "I just wanted it" that is a different story, but finically it cannot be justified with the low mileage figures you report. Again, the technology is not here yet for less than six figures. I do believe it will happen in the future. Also I wonder what the long term report is going to be on these early examples.