As an environmentally friendly family man, who needs a big car to transport a large family for reasons varying from Sunday soccer games to cross country road trips a lot of research was necessary for me to choose my newest investment…..The SUV. I never thought I would break down and buy one, as much as I hate spending a fortune on gas, as well as trying to do my part for the environment.
However, as I looked online and spoke with owners of some sport utility vehicles I found that not all SUVs had to be big gas guzzlers. While they may not get as good gas milage as the smaller, more compact cars, many SUVs can be somewhat cheap on gas. It is very cost effective to do research and pick a gas friendly SUV. If you drive 12000 miles a year and you have a sport utility vehicle that gets 15 MPG at $3 a gallon vs 30 MPG at $3 that is a difference of $1200!! Hybrids are definitely the most gas efficient SUVs. Here is a list of my favorite non Hybrid non-gas guzzling SUVs.
The Toyota Rav4 gets 23 mpg
Jeep Compass gets 22
Subaru Forester gets 22
Those are all considered ‘small’ SUVs
For larger gas efficient SUVs try looking at the
BMW X3 or Lexus RX. Both of these options are little more expensive but if you drive a lot of miles you would make up for the price over time.
Once again, if you are in need of a larger vehicle, but you want to help ‘do your part’ for the environment as well as save a lot of $ on gas take a look at the options listed above.
Thanks, and happy shopping!!