Cheapest cost per mile?
Cost per mile is one helpful metric for car buyers
There are many factors consumers can use to help them decide what kind of vehicle to buy, such as vehicle price, ownership costs like insurance and maintenance, and costs to drive.
So, in terms of costs to drive per mile, how do small cars, diesel vehicles hybrids and plug-ins compare?
Obviously, the costs to drive per mile for one hybrid, for instance, aren’t necessarily the same for all hybrid vehicles. So, it’s easy to generalize in ways that aren’t necessarily accurate. Nonetheless, MotorTrend has a pretty neat chart today comparing the Chevy Volt, Chevy Cruze, VW Jetta TDI, Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf.
According to MotorTrend, it costs 4 cents per mile to drive the Leaf, 6 cents for the Prius, 8 cents for the Volt, 10 cents for the Jetta and 11 cents for the Cruze.
However, it’s important to consider that the Volt, minimally, is being tested in cold weather. I’m not sure that all other vehicles on this chart were tested in cold weather. Consequently, as the weather warms, some of these numbers could improve.