E85 Drives Poorer Fuel Economy

September 6, 2006

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Consumer Reports has concluded that E85 ethanol will cost consumers more money than gasoline and that there are concerns about whether the governmentÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s support of flexible fuel vehicles can really help the U.S. achieve energy independence.

CRÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s testing found that:

E85 provides fewer miles per gallon, costs more, and is hard to find outside the Midwest.
Government support for flexible-fuel vehicles is indirectly causing more gasoline consumption rather than less.
Blended with gasoline, ethanol has the potential to fill a significant minority of future U.S. transportation fuel needs.
When testing a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe Flexible-Fuel Vehicle, overall fuel economy on the Tahoe dropped from 14 mpg overall to 10.
With the retail pump price of E85 averaging $2.91 per gallon in August, a 27 percent fuel-economy penalty means drivers would have paid an average of $3.99 for the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline.
The TahoeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s driving range decreased to about 300 miles on a full tank of E85 compared with about 440 on gasoline.

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