Buyers look for deal on mileage

[atlaw4u]

Figure fuel efficiency, vehicle prices to see where bargain lies

Mark Glover - DETROITNEWS - May 16, 2011

Driver interest in saving fuel is rising along with the price of gas, which has hit $4 a gallon in some places, and is expected to head still higher by summer.

A new car is one of the most radical cures to gas price shock, and even that takes some careful homework. A gas-electric Prius or an all-electric Nissan Leaf will enable you to thumb your nose at gas pumps, but there are other things to consider.

TrueCar.com last month released a study on the 10 most fuel-efficient cars sold in the United States. The Prius, with a combined city/highway fuel mileage rating of 49.6 miles per gallon, topped the list.

With an average purchase price of $22,235, a 2011 Prius driven a typical city/highway mix of 15,000 miles a year would require 302 gallons of gas. At $3.52 a gallon, that would be an annual fuel bill of $1,063. If gas were $5 a gallon, the annual bill would be $1,510.

Yet the ninth most fuel-efficient car, a four-cylinder, gas-fueled Hyundai Elantra, is the better deal economically, by TrueCar's reckoning.

The average purchase price of a base 2011 Elantra is only $15,052,... [Read More]

[herm]

Both cars are very comparable in interior room but (from truedelta.com) after you adjust for standard features the cost difference is about $3600.. it would be paid off in less than 5 years if gas reaches $5 a gallon.

Then you have resale values and long term reliability issues to consider... and Prius offers the convenience of a hatchback.

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

When doing price comparisons I wish articles would price them comparatively, and at least compare the standard set of features: 95% of cars sold have AT and I'd bet that a large proportion have AT + A/C + C/C, which is my wife's minimum feature set.

Add $1,250 MSRP on the Popular Equipment Package that adds A/C and C/C as well as the telescopic steering wheel which is probably now essential to my wife too, given the difference it made to choosing between a Corolla and a Civic.

[2RR2NV]

wish it was just sooo simple. i can't even put a prius on the buy list cause the payments would kill me. sooo unless they came down a ton (doubt it), Elantra is gonna win automatically. now there is the Accent coming out too... which looks SWEEEET!!! and even cheaper yet. what's not to love except it's dinky. but then again, commuting is 80-90% of the driving i do, so it would fit the bill nicely. now, if i could only get the wife to sign off on an MT.




on a sidenote.... $2700 upgrade to AT for Accent? WTH?!??!?

[warthog1984]

Originally Posted by 2RR2NV

on a sidenote.... $2700 downgrade to AT for Accent? WTH?!??!?

Fixed

FWIW, I'm also looking at paying a $2000+ premium for a FE car, but it'll be a TDI instead of a Prius (which I feel should come with a snooze button for the driver).

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Originally Posted by 2RR2NV

on a sidenote.... $2700 upgrade to AT for Accent? WTH?!??!?

In general you can only get a stripper in MT. So when you go AT you automatically get bumped up to the next model, which means paying for the usual $1k AT upgrade plus a bunch of other amenities.

[2RR2NV]

Originally Posted by ItsNotAboutTheMoney

In general you can only get a stripper in MT. So when you go AT you automatically get bumped up to the next model, which means paying for the usual $1k AT upgrade plus a bunch of other amenities.

ahhhh, didn't realize that. i like strippers! much better. less hassle. less to break.

LOL!! well, i will say that the "upgrade" sure has a LOT of stuff.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by 2RR2NV

i like strippers! much better. less hassle. less to break.

hmm....

[SD3_Driver]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

hmm....

[carzz]

Thx, the article was really interesting, especially the bottom line: "Low- and middle-income Americans are now spending more money each month on gasoline than on their car payments"!