Phonegap has no such issues as it is now becoming an Apache project (see Apache Cordova). Before Apache I would have steered clear as well, for exactly the reasons you're mentioning.

Of course, a well-made native application will perform better, but PhoneGap can be quite smooth too: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4467826

As a bonus, you'll get to utilize your existing web development skills. Besides, quite a lot of the "native" apps I've seen utilize some webviews anyway.