Which of these vehicle upgrades will save the most fuel for a family (please read this scenario)?

Question

Say your family has two vehicles and you drive each 12K miles per year.

One is a huge SUV that averages 10 mpg and the other is a midsized sedan that averages 20 mpg.

You want to trade one of them to help save on family fuel costs.

Is it better to trade the SUV for another sedan that gets 20 mpg or to trade the sedan for a hybrid that gets 45 mpg?

Answer 1

Trade both vehicles for that hybrid and use that ONLY when absolutely necessary.  Take the bus whenever possible.  THAT is the best thing you can do to help both your 'bottom line' and the environment.  The days of the 'two car family' are GONE ... the sooner you 'go green' the easier it will be, and we might just 'save the world.'

Answer 2

SUV for hybrid SUV or sedan.  (You're not saving if your car's too small to hold all of you and your stuff.)

Answer 3

If you consider only the fuel it is better to trade in the SUV. At present you use 1200 gal per yr in the SUV(12000 mi/10 mpg) and 600 in the sedan. Two sedans will use 1200 gal per yr. If you trade the sedan you will still use 1200 gal for the SUV and about 265 for the Hybrid. Don't forget operating cost including insurance and repairs as well. Two sedans should always win out.

Adam has a valid point about trading the SUV for the Hybrid.

Answer 4

the mathematical answer to your question is, trade the suv.

currently, the SUV is 2/3 of your fuel costs.

the car is 1/3

if you trade the SUV, you'll save 1/3.

if you trade the car, you've still got the 2/3 that the SUV costs.

unless your replacement uses no energy at all, option a is better.

one might suggest other alternatives, however, i suspect that wasn't the purpose of your question.

Answer 5

why not trade the SUV for the hybrid?

Answer 6

The problem in getting rid of the SUV is that no one wants them now, so you won't get squat for it. My solution was to get natural gas powered vehicles. They get the same mileage, but natural gas here (Utah) is 64 cents per gallon, plus they run way cleaner than gasoline cars. I can fill up for $8. If you are in an enlightened state that has natural gas filling stations in your area, go for a nat. gas car and you'll save a bundle. Check out my source below:

Answer 7

It depends on where you will be driving the hybrid. I have read that hybrids don't get high mpg if you do a lot of driving on freeways or the open roads. The reason is that the engine will run almost continuously to maintain speeds over 50 mph. If you drive the open road, I suggest getting a newer sedan with mileage closer to 25 or 30 mph. A Chevy Impala is reported to get in the mid 20s and is fairly spacious.