Honda Fit EV Lands 118 MPGe Rating From EPA

Honda is just tickled pink right now and has laid claim to the highest ever MPGe fuel efficiency rating for an electric vehicle. The EPA has granted the Honda Fit EV an equivalency rating of 118 MPGe making it the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the US. The Fit EV is a small four-door hatchback and promises more efficiency than other EVs on the market such as the Ford Focus Electric, Nissan Leaf, and other offerings.

The Fit EV will go on sale this summer in Oregon and California with a broader rollout later this year. However, the sticker price on the Fit EV is massively more than a gasoline powered version of the car. The electric version of the Fit is almost twice as expensive as a gasoline-powered version. The massive increase in cost means even with no gasoline needed, it would take 11 years for the driver to make up the savings in gasoline costs alone.

That fact is why the adoption of EVs in the US is so slow. The Fit EV would need 28.6 kWh of electricity to drive 100 miles costing about $3.30 at the national average price. By comparison, a gasoline-powered version of the car rated for 31 mpg would need 3.2 gallons of fuel for a 100-mile drive working out to $11.52 at a national average price. That's not a big difference considering the price difference to purchase the electric car.

[via Freep]