CNN iReport

As an enviromentalist, I was pleased to see that the car rental company that I use weekly has switched to a fleet of E85 FlexFuel vehicles. I had heard ramblings of power loss and bad mileage so I did my own little experiment this week.

The Test:

The car that I used was a Chevrolet HHR and the trip was roughly 350 miles each way. On the way I filled with 87 octane @ 2.49 a gallon. The trip was mostly interstate and I set the cruise @ 75MPH. When I arrived I had over a quarter tank of fuel left and used that to travel to my work places during the week. On the trip back I refueled with E85 at a cost of 2.09 per gallon. I made it back without refueling but the tank was nearly on empty.

The Verdict:

I averaged 31 miles per gallon which had a range of 496 miles with the 16 gallon tank. Total fuel costs was 39.84 or 8 cents per mile. With the  E85, I averaged 25 miles per gallon for a 400 mile range and total cost of 33.44 which is 8 cents per mile. If there was any power loss it was minimal as the car easily zoomed along at interstate speeds. There is no doubt that E85 burns cleaned but it also burns much quicker so you won't see nearly the same mileage.

Bottom Line:

If you are buying a FelxFuel car to help the environment you can rest assured that you are cutting emissions. If you are buying to save money, then you will be disappointed. Another drawback is that there are very few E85 stations right now. I had to drive 15 miles out of my way to find the nearest station.