Let’s get ready to rumble! In this corner, we have our reigning champion: Gas cars. They’re reliable, affordable and tried-and-true.
In this corner, showing up brand spankin’ shiny and new are electric vehicles (EVs). They’re great for the environment and the government is comin’ in hot with incentives to get you to buy one.
Electric vehicles have been going head-to-head with gas-powered cars for quite some time now, but who would win in a cost-of-fill-up cage match? Spoiler alert: EVs win when it comes to saving on a fill-up.
The brawl for it all
Sure, they might be more environmentally friendly and cheaper to maintain, but are EVs the overall winner? New data shows 70% of potential EV buyers say their No. 1 reason for the purchase is to save money on gas — but calculations aren’t that cut and dry.
Average gas prices and kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity are easy to calculate. The tricky part comes in when you try to calculate the cost to recharge.
Charge me
The rates for electricity vary from state to state. They also vary by the type of outlet you use and the time of day you decide to charge up your ride. Don’t forget many EV owners charge at home or work but then pay a premium at a charging station on the road.
To complicate things even further, the type of vehicle you have also comes into play. Calculations for an electric pickup truck, like Ford’s F-150 Lightning, differ from a sedan or an SUV.
If that all sounds like a headache, you’re right. Luckily, the Washington Post did some comparisons that cleared things up.
Road trippin’
The analysis looked at everything from daily driving to a cross-country road trip.
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