Have you thought about tweaking the hybrid? It may never be as fast as a road bike but you can squeeze more zip by changing to nice narrow high pressure road tires (your rims may be too wide for 23s, but 25s should work). You could add bar ends and a longer stem to get more aero, or swap out to a drop bar. If the cost of all this gets to the point where you could have bought a new road bike, you should just sell it but if you have soime parts laying around and/or do most of the work yourself, a modded hybrid can be really nice for commuting.

As for the sluggishness, I think most hybrids are designed for riders who will not be riding too aggressively. The geometry tends to favor a moderate to slow pace and reliable handling at low speeds. Personally I find this a plus while commuting. I have an old 80s road bike I set up as a hybrid (replaced drop bars with flats and bar ends) and it is certainly zippier than my mtb on commutes,,,,,,but I occaionally take on long weekend rides in the country and it pales in comparison to my modern road bike (very sluggish, especially on hills). So, like most hybrids it's a jack of all trades, master of none. As long as you appreciate their versatility and not try to push them too far into real road racing or offroad territories, they are well suited to commuting.