Gas Cost by Car Model

Every guide here answers that question the same way: EPA combined MPG, the current national average price per gallon, and annual cost shown at 10,000, 12,000 and 15,000 miles alongside a typical-driver figure. The consistency is the whole point. Manufacturer and review-site numbers tend to use whichever mileage and fuel price flatter the vehicle, which makes cross-shopping almost impossible. Here, a gap between two models is a real gap rather than an artefact of different assumptions.

Two things to carry into every guide. EPA combined ratings are a laboratory result, and short urban trips in cold weather will do meaningfully worse, so treat the published figure as a ceiling rather than an expectation. And fuel is only one line in ownership cost: insurance, depreciation and maintenance often differ more between two vehicles than fuel does. If you have not settled on a specific model yet, the class comparisons in the vehicle guides are usually the better starting point.