I drive a hybrid -- a made-in-the-USA, Ford Escape Hybrid. I get 32-35 MPG in normal mixed driving.
My former car only got 15 MPG (on a good day), so my fuel usage has been cut in half. The economic impact?
Here's a breakdown of how that impacts my bottom line:
Basically, gas has to get to over $5.75/gallon for me to get back to where my annual fuel bill was 2 years ago. The savings on gas have already paid for the so-called "premium" of buying a hybrid (vs. a standard gas-powered vehicle)... and by the end of this year, will have paid for the extended service package I also bought -- which takes care of all the maintenance costs. (Well, actually, the tax credit I got for buying the car paid for that... but assuming I hadn't gotten any tax incentive, which you don't on any model that has had sales over 50K in a year.)
All this means is that I'm better able to absorb the higher costs for food and other items -- to a point, of course.
| Price (gallon) | Old Car | Hybrid | Savings |
| $2.50 | $1,333 | $625 | $708 |
| $2.75 | $1,467 | $688 | $779 |
| $3.00 | $1,600 | $750 | $850 |
| $3.25 | $1,731 | $813 | $921 |
| $3.50 | $1,867 | $875 | $992 |
| $3.75 | $2,000 | $938 | $1,063 |
| $4.00 | $2,133 | $1,000 | $1,133 |
| $4.25 | $2,267 | $1,063 | $1,204 |
| $4.50 | $2,400 | $1,125 | $1,275 |
| $4.75 | $2,533 | $1,188 | $1,346 |
| $5.00 | $2,667 | $1,250 | $1,417 |
| $6.00 | $3,200 | $1,500 | $1,700 |
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