$1,845 to Fuel Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid vs. $283 to Fuel Hyundai IONIQ 5

After writing an article about how much cheaper it is to “fuel” an electric car than a gas car, something crossed my mind: I should do a comparison of the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Hyundai IONIQ 5!

If you haven’t been following along, a friend of mine recently decided to buy a Hyundai Santa Fe after almost buying a Hyundai IONIQ 5. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed to discover that since it’s always fun seeing a new EV on the road, and I was looking forward to seeing how much she loved the IONIQ 5 and all the benefits of EV ownership.

One thing I lamented in my article was that most people really don’t understand, or even get exposed to, the big benefits of electric car driving and ownership. One of those things is certainly the operational savings. Never having to go to the gas station is a huge convenience, but it also helps a lot with your bank balance! (I should probably do a better job explaining that to friends, but I don’t typically “EVangelize” unless someone is curious and asking me questions.)

So, how would things actually turn out for a Hyundai Santa Fe versus a Hyundai IONIQ 5? (Spoiler alert: look at the title.)

To compare, I used the fuel economy of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid (36 mpg), since that’s what my friend got. I used $4.43/gallon since that’s the price of gas, on average, in Florida right now. I used 15,000 miles/year since that’s more or less the average in the US. I used 3.7 miles/kWh for the IONIQ 5 since that seems to be around the average. And I used $0.07/kWh for the price of electricity since that’s what we pay here for overnight charging.

The result is that the IONIQ 5 would get you 198 more miles for the price you pay for a gallon of gas.

Furthermore, you’d save $1,562 per year on fuel. With the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, you’d spend $1,845 a year on gasoline, whereas with the Hyundai IONIQ 5, you’d spend $283 a year on electricity. Which one would you prefer?