5 SUVs that get less than 16 MPG, cost more than $100 to fill up
There is just something about spending $100 versus spending one penny less that makes you think twice. I might not feel so bad about owning a low mileage SUV if a single fill up did not cost too much even if I had to fill up a lot more often. Psychologically, the worst SUV may not be the SUV with the lowest miles per gallon but the one with the biggest gas tank. So, which SUVs cost more than $100 to fill up right now?Bankrate.com made a list recently of SUVs and pick ups that get less than 16 miles per gallon (combined city and highway), ranked them by the size of the gas tank and calculated how much it would cost to fill up with a gas price of $3.50 per gallon. The list below uses this week's national average, $3.09, and we see the Ford F250 Super Duty pickup coming in first with a 38-gallon-capacity gas tank and a cost of $117.42 to fill the tank from empty. Here is the list;
- Ford F250 Super Duty pickup, 38 gallons,$117.42
- Nissan Titan pickup, 37 gallons, $114.33
- Dodge Ram 2500 pickup, 35 gallons, $108.15
- Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD pickup, 34 gallons, $105.06
- Ford Expedition EL SUV, 33.5 gallons, $103.515
- Hummer H2 SUV, 32 gallons, $98.88
[Source: Bankrate.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
UH2L 10:08AM (11/20/2007)
It's always scary when the price of filling up the gas tank approaches the cost of a budget airfare on Southwest Airlines.
From prior research when I worked in the auto industry, we found that people didn't generally care so much about fuel economy as they did about how often they had to fill the gas tank. That research was done when gas was $1.75 a gallon. Now with gas as expensive as it is,the pendulum may have swung the other way and they might care more about how much it costs to fill up.
Atul
http://www.thingsivenoticed.com
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Matt 10:41AM (11/20/2007)
The decision on tank size has always struck me as related to a constant desired value for the range the vehicle can go without refueling. No matter the vehicle, it generally seems to be able to go 300-400 miles on a full tank, from a 26-foot moving van to a VW Beetle, Ford Focus, and many others I've driven in the last year.
Matt
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misterbleepy 12:10PM (11/20/2007)
Hey - it costs me around £45 to fill up my Prius - isn't that around $100 these days?
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Hoof Hearted 1:20PM (11/20/2007)
I'm confused, I thought the title of the article was "5 SUVs..." and the list only includes 2 SUVs and 6 total entries. Perhaps my engineering math is off or has been trumped by creative license.
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Lascelles Linton 1:28PM (11/20/2007)
Hoof, 5 vehicles that cost over $100 to fill up. I just added the Hummer to show the next lowest on the list. I tend to lump pick ups with SUVs. I will add "and pick ups" to the article now.
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kballs 2:07PM (11/20/2007)
RE: pendulum swinging the other way... I think there would be backlash if full sized trucks and SUVs had 15-18 gallon tanks... people would be paying $50-60 to fill up, but they'd have to do it 2x as often. Though the cost per fill-up is less, they would perceive the vehicle to be guzzling gas at a higher rate because they would be making 2x the trips to the gas station.
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kert 3:06PM (11/20/2007)
we have $6 a gallon gas here. its sold in litres of course.
$200 to fill up ? thanks but no thanks. Where is the nearest place to get a Vectrix ?
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Tim Russell 4:34PM (11/20/2007)
@Hoof Hearted I agree, 3 heavy duty work pickups and 1 other pickup and 2 SUV's does not make 5 SUV's.
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Hank 8:06PM (11/20/2007)
I've had a 1-ton truck with a smaller tank in the past. Trust me, it's better to have the bigger tank and either get used to the expense, or fill up at when it hits 1/2 a tank. Those trucks (the pickups, that is) are used for hauling, and often distance/range is crucial, especially in western states like TX & NM where you could burn through small tank and find yourself nowhere near a station.
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UH2L 5:41PM (11/20/2007)
kballs,
Yes, you couldn't shrink SUV fuel tank sizes, but people might start buying different vehicles based on cost to fill up. It's hard to say, just a theory.
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Chris Adams 5:27PM (11/21/2007)
I've been routinely getting tank averages of about 27MPG from a Mercedes ML diesel SUV. Combine that with a tank that seems to hold almost 27 gallons (despite being listed as 25.1 gal)and you get a 700+ mile driving range - which it does. Even though it costs almost $90 to fill up I would not trade that driving range for anything.
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Furion 11:03AM (11/21/2007)
No Chris Adams, you just don't get it, do you? SUVZ AR BAD, not matter the mileage, range or utility you get, even if it was better MPG than a car ;-)
But the premise of this article is just ridiculous. Let's face it: $100 isn't that much money anymore. It's not like people would pay refueling their car in installments.
Nor would they usually refill it from zero litres. I usually fill up when the computer sayz so, which is a bit less than quarter empty.
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gmporschenut 12:17PM (11/30/2007)
It should be noted that if your hauling a trailer the last thing you want to do is to have to try to pull into a gas station. sometimes a large truck is needed for work. If you buy it becuase you have complex about size well that's one thing but you you need to move a large mass of material from one spot to another a pick up is your best buy.
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