These days it's more important than ever to crunch the numbers when it comes to deciding which kind of “green” car to purchase – and unfortunately, there's also more numbers than ever to crunch. There's varying degrees of fuel savings, different types of fuel, federal tax credits, state tax credits, maintenance costs and, oh yeah, the purchase price of the vehicle itself. We mashed the digits and reviews together into a fine analysis puree to help you decide which kind of technology (hybrid, flex-fuel, high-mileage clean diesel, or fuel-efficient gasoline) and which models on the market today will let you drive and save green at the same time, starting with:
Hybrid Cars:
According to the auto value experts at
Vincentric, you have to be careful when picking a hybrid if you want to get the most for your money. They looked at nineteen 2008 hybrid models with the newest cost of ownership and fuel cost data available (November, 2008) and found that only two of them were cheaper in the long run than their gas-only counterparts, the
Nissan Altima and the
Saturn Vue. Additionally, the Altima was rated “excellent” for its overall value.
In other words, if you want to get the most hybrid for your money, consider the Altima*.
Here's the numbers from Vincentric:
MSRP: $25,480
Average ownership costs over 5 years:
Depreciation: $14,214
Fuel: $8,409
Financing: $3,866
Insurance: $7,682
Maintenance: $2,188
Fees and taxes, including hybrid tax credits: $-558
Repairs: $686
Opportunity Cost (What could have been made of interest had the funds not been spent owning and operating the vehicle): $3,620
Total Ownership Costs: $40,107
* - Vincentric had previously named the
Honda Civic Hybrid its “Best Value” hybrid for 2008, based on January 2008 data. As of this writing, the Altima had a slightly lower total cost of ownership over five years.
Flex-Fuel (E-85 ethanol) Cars
Poor ethanol isn't the rising star it once was. While the 85 percent corn-based fuel and gas mix E-85 is about 5 percent cheaper on average than regular gas as of this writing, it can be very difficult to find outside the Midwest, and the EPA says it can actually lead to a 15 percent decrease in fuel efficiency, eating up those savings quickly. Not to mention that most of the flex fuel vehicles available remain gas-hogging 4x4s or SUVs. But let's run the numbers in case you're really excited about the idea of running on 85 percent renewable fuel, or you live near one of the few places in the heartland where E-85 is up to fifty percent cheaper than gas, like Smyrna, Tennessee. (Check www.e85prices.com for an updated list).
One possible rising flex fuel star is the
2009 Chevy HHR – the crossover cruiser gets biofuel-burning capability for the first time this year, one of the only four-cylinders available in the U.S.
The HHR has a lower MSRP than the hybrid Altima, at $20,720, but ownership costs are a little higher, at $0.56 per mile, versus $0.53 for the Altima. Still, if the HHR is your style, you might save a few thousand dollars in the long run over a hybrid, and if you're in an ethanol-rich area, you might be able to even double those savings.
Total ownership costs over 5 years = $41,853