How Far Can You Drive for $100?

A hundred bucks? A nice round number, for sure, and a comforting amount of cash to have tucked into your wallet or money clip. But these days it seems that they don’t make money like they used to. In fact, depending upon what you’re driving, it’s possible to see a hundred bucks escape from your grasp to gurgle down into your vehicle’s fuel tank filler, never to be seen again.

Which is why we’re interested in this new Web site called How Far for $100. It’s designed to answer exactly the question posed by its title. Click, for instance, on the choice that offers you a look at the top 20 vehicles and you learn interesting stuff.

You learn, for example, that two of the top five are Toyotas. The Prius takes top honors, traveling an estimated 1,322 miles, thanks to its EPA combined mpg rating of 46. The Camry Hybrid is in fourth place, thanks to its ability to travel an estimated 978 miles, courtesy its EPA combined mpg rating of 34.

A bit further back, the Yaris, when equipped with its 5-speed manual transmission, is rated at a range of 920 miles for every $100 spent, thanks to its EPA combined mpg rating of 32. And that same Yaris, equipped with an automatic transmission, hangs in there with a range of 891 miles.

And the Corolla? No matter which transmission is chosen, that’s rated at a range of 863 miles, thanks to its EPA combined mpg rating of 30.

Obviously these figures are guesstimates, since what you pay for your fuel will affect the amount of fuel you can buy, and thus the distance you can travel for $100. And obviously, none of these estimates take into account how different people drive or maintain their cars. But these days, when everyone is desperately looking for ways to save a buck or three, this seems to us like a valuable tool. Because stretching the distance your next vehicle will travel for every $100 you spend is a great way to keep some of those dollars out of your car’s gas tank, and in your wallet or money clip.

- Jon F. Thompson, Editor, Open Road