[AZGolf]

For every 100,000 miles

Gas $3.50 $4.50
MPG
10mpg $35,000 $87,500
15mpg $23,000 $57,000
20mpg $17,500 $43,750
25mpg $14,000 $35,000
30mpg $11,666 $29,165

MPG = Miles per US gallon
Values in USD

I think you had a math error on the $4.50 column, but I like where you're going with it since the average American keeps their primary car for roughly 100,000 miles. A little more if it's a man, a little less if it's a woman based on stats, but still a good midpoint. Here's what I came up with:

To me, this demonstrates why 30mpg compact cars like the Chevy Trax or Hyundai Venue are still pretty good value in a world where the new Prius can run you $10k more. Over the course of 100,000 miles, even at $4.50/gal gasoline, the Trax/Venue would cost you $6000 more in gas, but still end up having saved you money versus paying a $6k+ premium for the Prius.

However if you're shopping a new Venue against an old 15mpg 4WD truck with oversized tires, then a $25k Trax would be equal in total cost of vehicle+gas to a $10k used truck, plus of course that $10k truck will end up costing you thousands more in repairs and maintenance, showing some of the false economy of old, low MPG used cars.

 

[PLF8593]

I think you had a math error on the $4.50 column, but I like where you're going with it since the average American keeps their primary car for roughly 100,000 miles. A little more if it's a man, a little less if it's a woman based on stats, but still a good midpoint. Here's what I came up with:

View attachment 253414

To me, this demonstrates why 30mpg compact cars like the Chevy Trax or Hyundai Venue are still pretty good value in a world where the new Prius can run you $10k more. Over the course of 100,000 miles, even at $4.50/gal gasoline, the Trax/Venue would cost you $6000 more in gas, but still end up having saved you money versus paying a $6k+ premium for the Prius.

However if you're shopping a new Venue against an old 15mpg 4WD truck with oversized tires, then a $25k Trax would be equal in total cost of vehicle+gas to a $10k used truck, plus of course that $10k truck will end up costing you thousands more in repairs and maintenance, showing some of the false economy of old, low MPG used cars.

Can you plug it in for $3.50 RUG $5 Diesel 100K miles @ 17 vs 25 mpg? This would be the cost difference for me to have chosen a VR6 Touareg over a TDI Touareg. Interested.

 

[whoisglipglop]

Short answer, no. Longer answer: it doesn't matter what the fuel economy is because my commute is 5 miles lot-to-lot. My wife's commute is 1.5 miles lot-to-lot. We have to think about which vehicle has not been driven on a longer trip and take it when a "long" trip is needed in our day-to-day.

If I ever have to drive 60-70 miles a day again, then the fuel economy will matter, or we could get an EV as a 3rd vehicle similar to when we owned a Jeep Wrangler and Honda Pilot as our primary vehicles.

Take a bike or walk.

 

[GLI Dan]

Looks at M4, looks at foot and thinks of habits. Nope. But my commute 12mi one way, 24mi a day is 1.5-2.5 gallons a day. ~14 gallon tank, I typically fill up every 7-10 days depending upon what I do/where I go on the weekend.

That won't change, but I do want to move the M4 to weekend/fun duties and replace with a hybrid or EV. I've also debated just using my wife's Ct200h for dd purposes since she works from home which would keep the miles off the M4 and likely save me about ~$150 in fuel a month since that thing costs $15-$20 to fill vs the $50-$75 the M4 costs and needs half as many fill ups.

Final thoughts: I then realized this was about "large" vehicles, of which I own none nor want one. If little glidan's come along in the next few years obviously some sort of SUV will join the stable and by that point I'd imagine just based on options it would likely be a hybrid at least. Unless it's my primary car (which I don't anticipate) in which case it will be some form of sport package german s/cuv thin

 

[Braxton1980]

I think you had a math error on the $4.50 column, but I like where you're going with it since the average American keeps their primary car for roughly 100,000 miles. A little more if it's a man, a little less if it's a woman based on stats, but still a good midpoint. Here's what I came up with:

View attachment 253414

To me, this demonstrates why 30mpg compact cars like the Chevy Trax or Hyundai Venue are still pretty good value in a world where the new Prius can run you $10k more. Over the course of 100,000 miles, even at $4.50/gal gasoline, the Trax/Venue would cost you $6000 more in gas, but still end up having saved you money versus paying a $6k+ premium for the Prius.

However if you're shopping a new Venue against an old 15mpg 4WD truck with oversized tires, then a $25k Trax would be equal in total cost of vehicle+gas to a $10k used truck, plus of course that $10k truck will end up costing you thousands more in repairs and maintenance, showing some of the false economy of old, low MPG used cars.

You're right, I removed the column. I was multiplying by 2.5 by mistake.

I also it's difficult to compare cars solely based on fuel costs because there's also speed, handling, luxury, features, warranty, and maintenance . That's not to say the Prius is worth that $10k but it should be noted.

 

[AZGolf]

Can you plug it in for $3.50 RUG $5 Diesel 100K miles @ 17 vs 25 mpg? This would be the cost difference for me to have chosen a VR6 Touareg over a TDI Touareg. Interested.

For that kind of stuff I'd just suggest the EPA's comparison tool.

Compare Side-by-Side

Compare the MPG of cars and trucks side-by-side. Compare the gas mileage and greenhouse gas emissions of new and used cars and trucks

fueleconomy.gov

You click "Personalize" to enter the fuel costs, how much of your driving is city/highway, and so on. It's actually a pretty neat way to do A-B comparisons.

 

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

The truck i have to drive for work is a 2022 ram 1500 with the hemi, 4x4 crew cab. I average 19-21mph combined. I am always very impressed with this. I personally drive a mk1 cabby that averages around 26ish. So given that the truck probably weighs 3x the cabby. It leaves me more impressed

That's pretty incredible given it's a 4x4 and V8.

 

[SoTxBill]

Luckly we have the room and can afford multiple vehicles. Our primary is the tdi passat. Lifetime average is 47.5 mpg at 98000 miles. Summertime fuel and normal driving its common to see 50 to 54 mpg with rural driving. However when the wife is taxing her 97 yo mom to doctor appointments, I see 43mpg due to her idling a lot to keep the a/c on for Mom. Wife has a 22 buick avenier suv that is getting around 22 to 25 mpg again depending on how much idling she is doing. In a year now she has 5400 miles on it as its second choice for trips or when we need to haul more. Then there's the 2013 powerstroke f350 dually.. that has 48000 mile on the clock. Its only used for heavy hauling. This week It was used to haul round bales on a 40' gooseneck. It gets 12.9mpg pulling an the empty "7000 lb" trailer. Then got 6.5 mp at a gross weight of 37000 lbs coming back loaded to the ranch. But the good news is that this truck is getting 14.7 with no trailer now as it starting to get broken in a bit which is really great for a 10,000lb truck with 4.10 rear end gears. However its a rare day for that truck to run without a trailer. This truck runs empty with a oversize tool box full of chains, binders, tools, jacks, and parts along with a 100 gal extra tank for filling farm equipment, so even "empty" its still carries some weight. But fuel economy is important for everything I own.

 

[G0to60]

Luckly we have the room and can afford multiple vehicles. Our primary is the tdi passat. Lifetime average is 47.5 mpg at 98000 miles. Summertime fuel and normal driving its common to see 50 to 54 mpg with rural driving. However when the wife is taxing her 97 yo mom to doctor appointments, I see 43mpg due to her idling a lot to keep the a/c on for Mom. Wife has a 22 buick avenier suv that is getting around 22 to 25 mpg again depending on how much idling she is doing. In a year now she has 5400 miles on it as its second choice for trips or when we need to haul more. Then there's the 2013 powerstroke f350 dually.. that has 48000 mile on the clock. Its only used for heavy hauling. This week It was used to haul round bales on a 40' gooseneck. It gets 12.9mpg pulling an the empty "7000 lb" trailer. Then got 6.5 mp at a gross weight of 37000 lbs coming back loaded to the ranch. But the good news is that this truck is getting 14.7 with no trailer now as it starting to get broken in a bit which is really great for a 10,000lb truck with 4.10 rear end gears. However its a rare day for that truck to run without a trailer. This truck runs empty with a oversize tool box full of chains, binders, tools, jacks, and parts along with a 100 gal extra tank for filling farm equipment, so even "empty" its still carries some weight. But fuel economy is important for everything I own.

I'm curious why your wife didn't get some type of hybrid if she is idling so much. She could probably save a decent amount of gas if she is stationary a lot with her mom.

 

[MoonlightB8]

I was recently given the opportunity to pick out a company vehicle. They pay for fuel, maintenance, etc. I've had my gas paid for since 2019 so it hasn't bothered me much. I opted for a 2023 SQ5 which on the highway I am getting 22 MPG. We got my wife an S4 instead of an SQ5 earlier this year. I've gotta say I'm happy with that decision every time I fill up the SQ. something that often gets overlooked is octane as well. 22 MPG with 87 is a different pain that 22 MPG with 93.

 

[[email protected]]

Take a bike or walk.

Who says we don't? Jumped too quickly to a conclusion, did you? Even if we didn't, one of the advantages of living close to where you work is that I have the luxury of owning whatever vehicle I want and still produce fewer harmful emissions than the average commuter, besides maybe my smugness.

 

[dunhamjr]

To me, this demonstrates why 30mpg compact cars like the Chevy Trax or Hyundai Venue are still pretty good value in a world where the new Prius can run you $10k more. Over the course of 100,000 miles, even at $4.50/gal gasoline, the Trax/Venue would cost you $6000 more in gas, but still end up having saved you money versus paying a $6k+ premium for the Prius.

Try not to forget that the purchase premium of a Prius should also result in a selling premium as well.

Additionally not all purchases are strictly about the dollars of it all. Using SIGNIFICANTLY less fuel over that 100k miles shouldn't be ignored. Imagine if all transport happened using 66% less fuel.

 

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Imagine if all transport happened using 66% less fuel.

If they're not going to use the fuel who is?

 

[Schillingfranz]

.

 

[Shaniqua]

It seems the only people i hear complaining about gas prices are the ones that drive 3/4 ton+ as a daily driver without anything in the bed or on the hitch.

Just read a study of users of an F150 and less than 25% use it to haul or tow weekly, most is a commuter.

Trucks are a status symbol in the south, everyone needs one because one day, just maybe, they might need it, but its not like all of the neighbors dont have one...


Going from my CC with premium to the Golf TDI sportwagen and changing work commute, i went from $100 a week in gas to about $20. I dont look at gas prices nor complain, as i am doing all i can to get the best of it.

 

[MandatoryOutsidePossum]

The EPA tool is neat. It shows me that even though my gas truck isn't very efficient, it does still save me money compared to a comparable diesel vehicle.

 

[CTK]

Yes

Prob 70-80% of the miles on our family hauler are daycare/grocery runs. Even the ****tiest plug in land barge would probably be 3-4x efficient on battery power, which is a big part of why I'm hoping to trade the Sienna for one.

 

[dunhamjr]

If they're not going to use the fuel who is?

hopefully no one?

 

[forewheel]

22 miles per $4.50 gallon of diesel vs 22 miles per $3.00 gallon of gasoline.

"miles per unit of liquid" is a nonsense calculation.

Yeah but MB puts their diesel engines in these for a reason, mine's an 04 with 260K miles on the clock and not a single engine issue. I'll pay an extra (roughly) $25-$30 at the pump for that kind of longevity. I bought this for the long game. For comparison, my previous F150 3.5L Ecoboost was already having quirky issues at 90K miles and got about 17mpg on average.

 

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

The EPA tool is neat. It shows me that even though my gas truck isn't very efficient, it does still save me money compared to a comparable diesel vehicle.

View attachment 253676

Diesel trucks are the ultimate status symbol though, paying extra for the motor, maintenance, and fuel!