The Truth About Flex-Fuel Vehicles
Have you thought about buying a flex-fuel vehicle? Do you know what one is?
To help you understand flex-fuel vehicles, here is what you need to know.
- Flex-fuel vehicles are powered by straight gasoline as well as a blend of gas and ethanol, an alcohol-based fuel made from crops such as corn.
- The ethanol-based fuel is known as E85.
- Flex-fuel vehicles usually have a yellow gas cap as well as body badges to let people know it can run on E85.
So should you purchase a flex-fuel vehicle?
It depends. To help you decide, here are some things that you need to consider.
- Flex-fuel vehicles are almost identical to standard vehicles. There are typically only a few modifications in the fuel system. If you own a Toyota flex-fuel vehicle, you’ll still be able to purchase genuine Toyota parts.
- Flex-fuel vehicles get 25 to 30 percent fewer miles on E85. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
- You use less imported fuel with flex-fuel. It’s a renewable fuel that is grown here in the United States.
According to Cars.com, roughly 7 million vehicles on the road today are flex-fuel vehicles. They’ve been around for quite some time now.
However, it remains to be seen whether they’ll catch on in popularity.
