As you may have recently read on my blog, I got a new car earlier this year when I traded in my 2008 Smart car. The new car that I bought is a 2011 Ford Fiesta SES.
When I traded in my Smart car, I figured that my gas mileage (MPG) on the Fiesta would not be as good. however, after crunching some numbers, I have surprised myself. To clarify what I am going to be talking about, I’m going to provide you with a little chart below.
Since the Smart car requires the highest octane fuel, the amount of money spent per mile is actually more than the Fiesta. For proof, I input the gas prices into the Side-by-Side calculator at FuelEconomy.gov to get the following:
So even though the MPG on the sticker looks better on the Smart, when you crunch the numbers, the Fiesta actually comes out ahead in the $$$ department… which is really what matters in todays economy.
If you consider the fuel economy when looking to buy a car, I highly recommend checking out the FuelEconomy.gov website for comparison data before making a decision.
Cheers!
Mark F.