Volkswagen Passat TDI shines when catastrophe, fuel shortage collide

Gas shortages mean different thing to different people in the automotive industry.  In the instance of Hurricane Sandy, great gas mileage didn’t matter much since there was a limited supply of fuel available. A full tank of gas in a car or trunk with a big tank and decent mileage, of course, meant a lot more.

Correspondingly, hybrid and electric vehicles are keen when gas is in short supply. But what if electricity isn’t available? That was another predicament during Hurricane Sandy and in the following week’s aftermath.

More relevant in times of need, therefore, how far the gas you have will take you. In other words, the range of a tank full of gas takes priority.

The Smart ForTwo and Toyota Prius C respectively have good mpg, but both have small gas tanks — less than 10-gallon capacity and therefore about 350-400 miles per tank.

The Volkswagen Passat TDI SE is a different story. It has a range of 690 miles, the best in the U.S. auto industry, according to Consumer Reports.

Considering just total range, here the top-10 total range cars (and truck) factoring the combination gas mileage and tank size.

MAKE/MODEL/OVERALL MPG/TANK SIZE/CRUISING RANGE
Volkswagen Passat TDI SE, 50,18.5, 690
Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE, 38, 17.0, 650
Chevrolet Volt, 99 MPGe (electric)/32 mpg (gas), 9.3, 325
Hyundai Sonata hybrid, 33, 17.2, 560
Nissan Altima (4-cyl.), 31,18.0,560
Ford F-250 (6.7, turbodiesel), 16, 35.0, 560
Ford F-150 (V8), 15, 36.0, 555
Volkswagen Golf TDI, 38, 14.5, 545
Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, 26, 21.1, 540
Volkswagen Touareg TDI, 24, 22.4, 540

To read the complete article, visit: Consumer Reports/Fuel Range