While experts fear recent gas price declines as a precursor to deflation, most Americans welcome the opportunity to spend less at the pump. Despite unexpectedly low fuel prices, consumers are still gravitating to more fuel efficient vehicles. If you haven’t purchased a car recently and value fuel efficiency, you may be surprised at the breadth of choices. Today, everything from gas-electric hybrids to diesels and fuel-sipping gasoline cars are available, so how do you choose? Here’s some info to help navigate this new and sometimes confusing playing field.
Hybrids
Hybrid vehicles combine a gasoline combustion engine with an all-electric drive system. When driving short distances particularly under low acceleration, hybrid vehicles rely largely on their electric engine for power. Under harder acceleration or long distance driving, the vehicle’s gasoline engine kicks in to power the car. When the gasoline engine is running, it powers a generator which charges the vehicle’s electric battery. Most hybrids also generate charging power under hard breaking as well.
Pros. Hybrids typically achieve better fuel economy than equivalent gasoline cars, particularly in city driving. Most hybrids include on-board monitors that display real-time fuel consumption and help drivers adjust driving habits for maximum fuel economy. They also offer their owners the added benefit of a smaller carbon footprint, resulting in a lower environmental impact. Plug-in hybrids will soon come to market, led by the Chevy Volt.
Cons. Hybrid vehicles are more expensive than their gasoline powered counterparts and many new gasoline cars achieve comparable fuel economy. If you put significant miles on your car (12,000+ per year) or do lots of city driving, you may benefit from a hybrid. If not, you’ll need to crunch the numbers to determine if the $3,000+ premium a hybrid carries is worth the additional mpgs. Also, the jury is still out on the long terms repair costs of hybrid’s expensive batteries and complex drive systems.
Models to consider: Toyota Prius, Chevy Malibu Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid
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Jetta TDI Clean Diesel Sportwagen
Diesels
Diesel technology is nothing new. A specially refined version of petroleum and hydrocarbon, diesel fuel powers the bulk of the world’s commercials vehicles and fuels a lion’s share of cars in Europe. Due to stringent environmental standards here, diesels have made minimal inroads, but new clean diesel engines are hitting the market that are legal across all fifty states.
Pros. Diesels achieve remarkably high fuel economy due to the efficiency of its engine and a higher energy-per-liter content of the fuel that powers it. And while traditional diesels were knocked for lung-choking pollutants, new clean diesel cars actually produce lower greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline ones. For those truly dedicated to maximum savings and minimum environmental impact, some diesel engines can be converted to run on pure vegetable oil or even waste vegetable oil (WVO) sourced from restaurants.
Cons. Today’s diesel fuel remains 35% more expensive than regular gasoline. According to the Energy Information Administration, this is the result of increased demand in China, Europe and here in the U.S., putting “pressure on tight global refining capacity.” Diesel fuel also carries a higher excise tax than gasoline, upwards of 6 cents per gallon. Like hybrids, diesels may achieve only minimal fuel economy improvement with a significantly higher back end fuel cost.
Models to consider: Mercedes E-350 Bluetec, VW Jetta TDI Clean Diesel, BMW 335d sedan
Mini Cooper S
Fuel efficient gasoline
New technology and advanced engineering have helped greatly improve fuel efficiency of gasoline engines. Several vehicles including the Honda Civic, Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo and Toyota Yaris average close to 30 miles gallon. Others like the Mini Cooper, achieve highway numbers of close to 40 mpg.
Pros. Though new fuel-saving technologies are in the works, most vehicles are still powered by gasoline. This provides the consumer with the broadest selection and greatest variety of vehicles. From compacts to midsize cars, wagons to crossovers and coupes to SUVs, there are a bevy of gasoline vehicles available that won’t break the bank at the pump. Gasoline vehicles are still less expensive on average than equivalent hybrid and diesel cars.
Cons. If this year was any indication, crude oil will remain volatile leaving us at the mercy of wildly fluctuating gas prices. A $100 per month gas budget today could quickly balloon to twice that in six months.
Models to consider: Hyundai Sonata, Kia Rondo, Pontiac Solstice.
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