Look Deeper than Just MPG to Help You Really Save Money

Is it Worth it to Buy Pricier Cars with Better Gas Mileage

Bruce Sheridan

Is it really saving money

All the new cars with better mpg have become incredibly popular in recent years. Once just an afterthought, gas mileage is now one of the biggest selling points to efficient new cars. It's easy to get blinded by the higher mpg estimates and get wooed into buying a more expensive car, but are they really saving you money?

The answer is maybe. It depends on how you drive, where you drive and how far you drive everyday. For argument's sake let's compare two models of the 2012 Ford Fusion; the cheapest sedan model and the more expensive hybrid model. This way the only real differences between our test subjects are the gas mileage and the price tag.

FuelEconomy.gov, a site operated by the US Department of Energy, has detailed information about the fuel economy of every new car for sale, including estimated fuel costs per year. They assume that you do 45% of your driving on the highway and 55% in the city, you drive 15,000 miles a year, and gas costs $3.75 per gallon. Let's see how they stack up.

	2012 Ford Fusion S	2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid
MSRP	$20,705	$28,775
Gas Mileage	22 / 29 mpg	41 / 36 mpg
Cost to Drive 25 Miles	$3.91	$2.40
Annual Fuel Cost	$2350	$1450

What's it mean

So the difference in price between these two is $8070, and the Fusion Hybrid saves you $900 a year. So to make up the difference in the purchasing price, it would take almost nine years.

This is not to say that getting hybrids is a bad idea; this is just to show that trading in your current car and taking on a bigger payment for a hybrid probably isn't going to save you money for a long time. Although, the more you drive the faster you will make up that difference. If you have no choice and need to buy a car, then the new hybrid cars are a great idea to invest in.

It's harder to compare these costs with the new electric cars, however. EVs cost much more initially, but they can potentially run on nothing but electricity, provided you have a short daily drive. It all depends on how far you drive.

So are more expensive cars worth it? To get the ideal car for your situation, you need to take the time to work out the math. Only you know your driving habits and needs, and all the information you need to figure out the rest is just a few clicks away.

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