Car Comparison - What Really Matters!

Today, CCNMoney.com has a car comparison entitled "Fuel-sipper smackdown" on their Autos page of their website. Edmunds.com conducted the test to compare the "real-world" fuel economy of four vehicles to see how each performed. The vehicles chosen were the Ford Focus (to represent the compact market), the Smart Fortwo (to represent ultra-compacts), the Jetta TDI (2005 model, to represent the diesels), and the Toyota Prius (to represent the hybrids). Each vehicle was driven 676 miles through varying traffic situations to test the over-all fuel efficiency.


They placed the Prius in first place at 47.7 mpg average, then the Jetta at 43.8 mpg, the ForTwo at 40.0 mpg, and the Focus last at 33.3 mpg.


But I wanted to know how the actual costs would compare over a typical vehicle life. And I wanted to include the purchase price of the vehicle, which Edmunds ignored. So I whipped out my trusty Excel spreadsheet and went to work. Note that I dropped the Jetta from the comparisons, since it (1) is not currently available, so pricing would be a guess; and (2) trying to include the cost of diesel would add another independent variable, making accurate comparisons extremely difficult.


I used the price-points provided by Edmunds as shown on the CNNMoney.com website, except for the Focus, which I increased the the higher price-point so that the equipment level would essentially match the more expensive Prius. I determined the price from the FordVehicles. com website and did not include available incentives. The prices ended up at:

For the comparisons, I also assumed that the average transaction price would be between these points, so I included an Average price that is just that, the average of the Low and High prices.

To start comparing, I used the current retail gas price ($3.95 national average) and assumed the theoretical average annual usage of 12,000 miles per year. Purchase price plus fuel price for 3 years of driving equated to:The ForTwo is the obvious winner across all price points. The Focus is a strong second.

Next, I tested what would happen if you averaged 20,000 miles per year for 3 years, again at $3.95 per gallon.

As expected, the ForTwo is still the least expensive to own. The Prius has closed the gap some with the Focus, but is still a good bit more expensive.

Finally, I decided to determine the "break-even" point between the high priced Focus and the high priced Prius (since the ForTwo is a considerably different vehicle). Again, based on three years of ownership, the break-even point with varying usage is graphed as:

So, the more you drive, the more cost effective the Prius becomes. Additionally, the higher the gas price, the more cost effective the Prius is. But, if you average 20,000 miles per year, the cost of gas would have to average $7.41 over the next three years for the ownership cost of the Prius and Focus to be the same.

If you assume 100,000 total miles driven, the break-even gas price is $4.44.

So, if you feel safe in the ForTwo and you only need two seats, go for it. The value is there! If you need four seats, though, carefully consider usage and what you think the future cost of gas is going to be (I am not getting into prognosticating now) before running out and getting the hybrid. The Focus may be the more cost-effective vehicle for you!