Electric cars are known to be very efficient when it comes to fuel consumption, but how much exactly? We compare the best selling new petrol cars on the market with the most popular electric vehicles that you can buy now in the USA. Which one you should consider and why? We take a look at the numbers in depth.

Source: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/

Ford F-150 is the best selling car in the USA. There were 909,330 units sold last year of this model. We compare the standard model with the 2.7 Liter engine and 2 wheel drive to other SUV’s and sedan cars to see how far a single gallon takes you with these vehicles.
MPGe stands for Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent to be able to compare ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), hybrid and fully electric cars. An interesting fact to add to the list is the EV1 car that was produced in small numbers in the late ’90s by General Motors had a record high 205 MPGe. No mass-produced car has come close to this figure to this date.

The Full List

• Ford F150 Pickup 2WD 2.7 L – 22 MPGe (10.69 l/100 km) or 0.65 mi/kWh (1.00 km/kWh)
• Mazda CX-5 4WD 2.5 L – 26 MPGe (9.05 l/100 km) or 0.77 mi/kWh (1.20 km/kWh)
• Hyundai Kona AWD 1.6 – 27 MPGe (8.71 l/100 km) or 0.80 mi/kWh (1.29 km/kWh)
• Volkswagen Golf 1.4 L – 32 MPGe (7.35 l/100 km) or 0.95 mi/kWh (1.50 km/kWh)
• Honda Civic 1.5 L – 36 MPGe (7.35 l/100 km) or 1.07 mi/kWh (1.72 km/kWh)
• Toyota Corolla 2.0L – 36 MPGe (7.35 l/100 km) or 1.07 mi/kWh (1.72 km/kWh)
• Toyota Corolla 1.8L Hybrid – 52 MPGe (4.52 l/100 km) or 1.54 mi/kWh (2.50 km / kWh)
• Audi E-tron – 74 MPGe (3.18 l/ 100km) or 2.20 mi/kWh (3.54 km/kWh)
• Jaguar I-Pace – 76 MPGe (3.10 l/100 km) or 2.26 mi/kWh (3.64 km/kWh)
• Tesla Model X Long Range – 96 MPGe (2.45 l/100 km) or 2.85 mi/kWh (4.59 km/kWh)
• Tesla Model S Long Range – 111 MPGe (2.12 l/100 km) or 3.29 mi/kWh (5.29 km/kWh)
• Nissan Leaf – 112 MGPe (2.10 l/100 km) or 3.32 mi/kWh (5.34 km/kWh)
• Kia Niro – 112 MPGe (2.10 l/100 km) or 3.32 mi/kWh (5.34 km/kWh)
• BMW i3 – 113 MPGe (2.08 l/100 km) or 3.35 mi/kWh (5.39 km/kWh)
• Kia Soul – 114 MPGe (2.06 l/100 km) or 3.38 mi/kWh (5.44 km/kWh)
• Volkswagen e-Golf – 119 MPGe (1.98 l/100 km) or 3.53 mi/kWh (km/kWh)
• Chevrolet Bolt EV – 119 MPGe (1.98 l/100 km) or 3.53 mi/kWh (km/kWh)
• Hyundai Kona – 120 MPGe (1.96 l/100 km) or 3.56 mi/kWh (km/kWh)
• Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus – 133 MPGe (1.77 l/100 km) or 3.95 mi/kWh (6.36 km/kWh)
• Hyundai Ioniq – 136 MPGe (1.73 l/100 km) or 4.04 mi/kWh (6.50 km/kWh)
  
  * 1 gallon of gasoline = 33.7 kWh

Petrol, Hybrid or Electric?

Strictly from an energy efficiency point of view, the answer is simple. Electric is always vastly more efficient and it will take you further on the same amount of energy. As an example, Hyundai produces petrol as well as a full-electric version of the Kona. When we compare the two, we see that the EV is 4.44 times more efficient than its petrol-powered counterpart.

We have also established in another article that electric vehicles are less polluting even if the energy production of the country mainly comes from coal-burning.

What about the range? Modern electric cars such as the Tesla Model 3 have a range of over 300 miles. The latest V3 rapid chargers of the company are able to charge at a rate of 75 miles in just 5 minutes (250kW charging). As the technology further progresses we can expect more range and quicker charging times.