Advantages of a Hybrid car

So we are in the market for a new car.  What is the advantage of a hybrid vs. a plain old gas powered vehicle.  At least 70% of the driving will be highway.

Much of it seems like personal preference. Here's my experiences with hybrid and traditional combustion engine cars:

I test-drove a Prius 15 years ago, and also tried a newer one as a rental recently. I really dislike the Prius. To me they feel underpowered, and I became terrified when trying to merge onto Rt. 22. I also felt it had lousy visibility out the front and back windshields of the Prius. I'm petite. My 6' tall spouse disliked the Prius' low headroom.

But we wanted a hybrid. So, almost 15 years ago, we got a Honda Civic Hybrid. It was good (it was the first model year), but the mpgs weren't that amazing (maybe low 40's). After about 8 years with that car, we got a regular Honda Civic, which had mpgs just below the hybrid's, but the hybrid version was more expensive, so we decided not to spend the extra money at that time.

The regular Civic (32mpg city/42 mpg hwy) was fine for us for the next few years. 

Then fast forward to 2015, and we decided to try the newer hybrids. Ended up getting a Ford C-Max Hybrid (42 mpg city/38 mpg hwy). Purchased it out in the western part of Rt 22 (Licardi) where they had about a dozen on the lot, and since no one had heard of them they weren't selling very fast. We got a base model somewhere between $20-$25k -- which was a few thousand below sticker price.

Pros of the C-Max: 

• Quiet. I've had people comment on how quiet it is. There is sometimes a bit of a 'spaceship' sound instead of loud engine.
• No problems with speed. It can move quickly off the line at a red light (when I want to get ahead of the car next to me, it does so smoothly, quickly, and quietly). On the highway I have gotten up to 85 or 90mph without even realizing the car was going that fast.
• I get just over 40 mpgs on average (half city/half hwy), and about 500 miles between gasoline fill-ups.
• Less wear and tear on the brakes (since uses the magnets mostly).
• Lots of headroom - it's between a car and a crossover in height (it has a really high roofline and upright seating). The C-max is a hatchback.
• (Note: There is an option to get the plug-in version, which has higher mpgs, but the trunk is a bit odd due to how huge the battery pack is, and the batteries raise the floor of the trunk quite high). 

Cons of the C-Max:

• Stupid name that no one has ever heard of (or maybe that's a pro, since no one buys it, the price seems more negotiable).
• Turning radius is like a truck (however, it parallel parks like a dream)
• Low rolling resistance tires together with the heaviness of the car from the batteries means it has a tendency to skid on wet turns from a stop, especially if turning uphill. (Others who experienced this have recommended starting a turn by moving straight forward initially, then turning right after getting the momentum started). It is not a good winter car, at least not with OEM tires (so if you don't have a 2nd vehicle that is good in the winter, you may want to invest in snow tires, and lose some mpgs for the winter months). 
• The driver's seat (at least in a car without the power seats) is too deep for a petite female. I had to get a wedge cushion and a lumbar cushion, and a neck cushion because without them, the driver's seat was digging into the back of my knees.

The C-Max seems to be slightly larger and faster than a regular Honda Civic or Ford Focus, but has mpg's similar (or slightly better) than those regular cars. The C-max works well for my commutes, and is also comfortable for driving a car full of family and/or kids around.

That said, I'm hoping for an affordable plug-in electric model when we look for our next car.

ETA: Even though the C-Max plug-in has a higher sticker price than the hybrid, I later met someone who got a C-Max plug-in version for the same price range we paid for the hybrid. They really like it.

I like Priuses so much that when our 12 year old Prius (2nd owner 165K recently) bit the dust I picked up a 2002 version that had had its battery replaced last year for free (standard if it fails before 100K, which is obviously rare) and only 84K on it.  To me it feels like a new car.  Now my wife is using it to commute an hour to Piscataway every day.  

For a number of years I used my old Prius on my commute to Jersey City via 78 and the Turnpike every morning..  Crazily merging route including high speeds at times.  No problem with acceleration at all.  

Understand that I am one of those drivers who will be just behind the lead car of the left lane for most of my longer drives.  Never shy about getting up to 80 mph if the conditions permit it.  Both of my Priuses have been fine with that.

The visibility seemed odd at first but now standard cars feel like they have noticeably less visibility to me (5'1 and shrinking here!)  My daughter feels the same way.