Affordable gasoline is making hybrid car owners rethink their loyalty.

With bargain gasoline prices putting more money in the pockets of Americans, owners of hybrids and electric vehicles are defecting to sport utility vehicles and other conventional models powered only by gasoline, according to Edmunds.com, an auto research firm.

There are limits, it appears, to how far consumers will go to own a car that became a rolling statement of environmental concern. In 2012, with gas prices soaring, an owner could expect a hybrid to pay back its higher upfront costs in as little as five years. Now, that oft-calculated payback period can extend to 10 years or more.

“We’d all like to save the environment, but maybe not when it costs hundreds of dollars per year,” said Jessica Caldwell, director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com.

Erik Tufteland of Las Vegas traded his trusty 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid for a 2014 Subaru Forester. He wanted an all-wheel-drive vehicle that could better handle ski and snowboard trips. Mr. Tufteland was also growing anxious over the possibility of one day needing to replace the Honda’s expensive hybrid battery.