Are flex-fuel vehicles more expensive?

While E85 gas costs less than regular gasoline at the pump, the decrease in miles per gallon makes it more expensive when driving. Despite the lower miles per gallon, flex-fuel vehicles often put out more torque and more horsepower when running on E85 instead of regular gasoline.

Is it cheaper to use flex-fuel?

E85 is much cheaper than regular gasoline. This makes E85 32% cheaper than gasoline. So when you factor in the cost of E85 and the mileage it yields, the cost for E85 is less than gasoline. Even in the worst-case scenario, when E85 reduces your mileage by 25%, you can save about 7% on fuel.

Why are flex-fuel vehicles cheaper?

When you fill up with E85, you get fewer miles per gallon because ethanol contains less energy. To frame it another way, you’d pay 21.5% less per gallon for E85, but your miles per gallon would be reduced by 30%. So filling up with gas is cheaper in this instance.

Can you run regular gas in a flex-fuel vehicle?

Using any octane level of gasoline in a flex-fuel vehicle is acceptable. The sensors in an FFV detect whether the fuel is pure gasoline or 85% ethanol and make necessary changes for optimal fuel injection and timing of combustion. Putting E85 in a car not designed for flexible fuel can be harmful.

What is the cost of fuel for a fuel-flex vehicle?

Flex-fuel offers a lower cost per gallon compared to gasoline prices. At the time of this writing, the AAA national average gas price for a gallon of E85 is $2.65, or 51 cents less than regular unleaded gas. While the price per gallon of E85 is typically less than regular gas, FFVs using the ethanol-gasoline blend have lower fuel economy ratings.

What do you need to know about flex fuel vehicles?

Here’s what you need to know about flex fuel vehicles and what it means to own one. Flex fuel basically means that your Ford can run on different mixtures of fuel. This includes the standard pump gasoline blend of 10-15% ethanol and 85-90% regular gasoline or the increasingly common E85, which is an 85% ethanol blend.

What is flex fuel and what are the pros and cons?

Continue reading to learn about flex fuel and its pros and cons. What Is Flex Fuel? Flex fuel, or flexible fuel, is an alternative fuel made of a combination of gasoline and methanol or ethanol. Flex-fuel vehicles are those that have internal combustion engines designed to run on more than one type of fuel.

What are the disadvantages of flexible-fuel vehicles?

The negatives of flexible-fuel vehicles include: Lower fuel economy: Ethanol is a less-efficient source of fuel than traditional gasoline is; in other words, ethanol-laden fuel contains less usable energy for an equal amount of gas.