I own a hybrid Honda Insight, and I'll respond to the seven worries from my own experience with the car since I bought it in July, 2003.
W1: "Worry: Hybrids have complicated technology that is difficult or expensive to fix."
I have only taken the car to the dealer for routine maintenance up to this point, i.e tire rotation and oil changes. I did replace the small 12V battery myself when it failed about 3 months ago, (not the main 140 V battery--no way would I touch that. Besides, there's a big warning not to open the cover to the battery bank: "No user servicable parts." and "Warning! High voltage. Electrical shock can cause death" ... or something to that effect.)
W2: "Worry: Hybrids have limited battery pack life."
So far I've had no problems with the battery bank. I will reach the 80K miles mark before the 8 year warranty expires. I'll keep ya posted if and when I have to service the main battery or other electrical components.
W3: "Worry: Hybrids have technical problems like stalling and sputtering"
Never had that problem with the Insight.
W4: "Worry: Hybrids do not pay for themselves to justify their premium cost".
All I can say is that it has saved me over $5000 in gasoline vs. my other vehicle, an F-150, since it gets three times better gas mileage than the truck. If I had bought a different small car, say a Geo Metro, I would have still saved a lot of gas money, but not over 5 grand.
W5: "Worry: Hybrids do not offer the driving performance needed".
The purpose of a hybrid is to conserve fuel. One should not expect the performance of a sports car.
W6: "Worry: Hybrids will not hold resale value."
I'm not planning on selling it. If the PO doomers are right, this may be the last car I buy.
W7: "Worry: Hybrids do not get the level of mileage promised".
Yeah right. Perhaps that's true with the other hybrids, but not the Insight. I'm actually getting about 1 mpg
better than the EPA estimate of 56 mpg with the auto transmission!