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Fuel efficient cars–do they cost us less?

Posted by Roy Cordato on 10 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized, Traditional and Alternative Energy, transportation, Energy Behavior Modification

This article from the Wall Street Journal suggests that they don’t. Because fuel efficient cars tend to be more dangerous to life and limb, they cost more to insure. Gasoline costs are offset by higher insurance rates. Here’s some of what the article says:

Small cars generally cost more to insure than larger ones because they’re involved in more accidents and incur bigger claims, especially for injuries… A 40-year-old male driver would pay an average of $1,704 to insure a 2009 Mini Cooper that gets 37 miles per gallon on the highway, according to a study by Insure.com, an online insurance broker. That same driver would pay only $1,266 — a difference of $438 — to insure a Toyota Sienna Minivan, which gets 23 mpg…Similarly, a Honda Civic compact that gets 36 mpg on the highway costs $412 more a year to insure than a Honda CR-V, a small sport-utility vehicle that gets 27 mpg.

Of course, as gas prices fall fuel efficient cars will become even less efficient overall for the individual auto consumer. As the WSJ notes:

After soaring earlier this year, retail gasoline prices have lately been tumbling, making the higher insurance costs for smaller cars even more of a consideration.

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