Question

Mrs. Adams loves her Honda Element, but the fuel rate is 23 miles per gallon on the highway and is mostly used to commute from her home in Atlanta to school (17 mi, one way). She's been look at used Toyota Priuses on the internet, and can find a reliable used Prius, which has a fuel rate estimating to be 41 miles per gallon, for around $6,500. Given that gas prices currently are averaging $3.00 per gallon, how long will it take for the Prius to pay for itself in gas savings?​

Answer 1

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Explanation:

Mrs. Adams commutes 17 miles each way to work, so she travels a total of 17 * 2 = <<172=34>>34 miles per day.

Since the Honda Element gets 23 miles per gallon on the highway, it uses 34 / 23 = 1.48 gallons of gas per day.

At a gas price of $3.00 per gallon, the Honda Element costs 1.48 * 3 = $<<1.483=4.44>>4.44 in gas per day.

The Toyota Prius gets 41 miles per gallon on the highway, so it uses 34 / 41 = 0.83 gallons of gas per day.

At a gas price of $3.00 per gallon, the Toyota Prius costs 0.83 * 3 = $<<0.83*3=2.49>>2.49 in gas per day.

The Toyota Prius costs $2.49 in gas per day, while the Honda Element costs $4.44 in gas per day.

The difference in gas cost between the two vehicles is $4.44 - $2.49 = $1.95 per day.

To pay for itself in gas savings, the Toyota Prius needs to save $6,500 / $1.95 = 3345.38 days of gas.

At a rate of 365 days per year, this is approximately 3345.38 / 365 = <<3345.38/365=9.14>>9.14 years.

Therefore, it will take approximately 9.14 years for the Toyota Prius to pay for itself in gas savings.