How High Will Gas Go? Unicorn Alternatives Until V-12’s Rule Again.

The world is going to hell in a handbasket. Because of the tragic Russian invasion of Ukraine, gas prices in the USA averaged $4.25 a gallon for regular and over $5.00 for diesel as I write. Fortunately my V-12 Mercedes S600 is in the shop for last minute repairs before I sell it. But we still gotta drive, right? Thought I’d put together a short list of cars I might be tempted to drive if I had to endure these prices long term. (Of course I say that as I prepare to pickup a 24 test drive of a BMW M3 V-8 this afternoon!) Unicorns? Only during these times.

Let’s start with an electric vehicle (EV), the controversial 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E SELECT. I’ve seen them on the road and the design doesn’t offend me, I just wish Ford hadn’t contaminated the Mustang brand on this EV. But since I drove a pitiful (borrowed) 1978 Mustang II with the 84 hp four-cylinder to my high school prom I guess I have little credibility here. Is is an SUV? A crossover? A car? Who cares. It’s electric! (Boogie, woogie, woogie)

The Mustang Mach-E Select has 266 hp and will do 0-60 mph in less than five seconds – not bad – and go maybe 270 miles on a charge. Middle of the pack EV performance. It’s fairly well equipped with auto cruise control and Apple Carplay. Car and Driver liked it so much they gave it an “Editors’ Choice” award. The car sold for maybe $50,000 new, and is now selling at a disappointing premium of $53,998 here in Potomac Mills, Virginia.

Stock # 22328427  VIN # 3FMTK1RM6MMA10386

Next we have what I thought was the gold standard for EV’s, but don’t hold me to that – a 2018 Model 3 Long Range. CarMax today has 253 Teslas on the lots, ranging from $41,998 for a Standard Range model to $156,998 for a Model S Plaid rocket ship. I chose the 2018 below for no other reason than it was “reasonably” priced and a long range model. It’s similar in performance to the Mustang, albeit with a little less range (200 miles?!). Same with features.

The 2018 Tesla Model S Long Range rolled out to mixed reviews. Car and Driver noted the highs as “satisfying handling, impressive tech integration, looks and feels like the future.” The lows were “Not the price we were promised, not the range we were hoping for, the questionable build quality we’ve learned to expect.” This was probably a $56,000 car new, and is now $43,998 here in Kearny Mesa, California.

Stock # 21960104  VIN # 5YJ3E1EA4JF008630

I’d be more likely to buy a hybrid than an EV, to be honest. This 2013 Lexus RX 450h caught my eye as a handsome SUV with Lexus quality, a reasonable price, and low miles. Or as Car and Driver calls it, a double dose of snobbery being both a Lexus and green. I’m okay with that.

Forty percent of Lexus sales back in 2013, when this car was new, were RX models. Damned popular. It sold new for maybe $51,000 and is a little dated almost 10 years later – heating and cooling seats, Bluetooth, rear view camera, blind spot monitor….all features standard on pretty much all cars now. But it has a lovely interior, AWD, a 3.6 liter hybrid motor good for a combined 295 hp, 30 mpg city/28 highway, and will probably run forever. I’d forego MaxCare. Find it here in Fremont, California.

Stock # 22224306  VIN # JTJBC1BA0D2056409

On the budget end of hybrids I found this nice 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium for only $23,998. I have long been a fan of the Titanium trim in Fords, having bought my daughter a 2015 Escape Titanium. Titaniums are loaded – auto cruise control, Apple Carplay, automated parking, heating and cooling seats, heated steering wheel – and since Ford is getting out of the car business, makes this Fusion a bit of a unicorn. The only trim nicer in 2017 was a Platinum edition.

The 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium gets 43 mpg city / 41 highway, There’s a lot to like about this car, but unfortunately it’s got a major flaw – it’s slow as hell. The 2.0 liter hybrid four cylinder pumps out only 188 hp and takes almost nine seconds to reach 60 mph! I just can’t live that way. But for cruising around town I think this is a bargain. It’s currently here in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Stock # 21579885 VIN # 3FA6P0SU5HR147213

But I know you’re thinking “What if I’m not into electrics and batteries and still want to burn fossil fuels, just cheaper?”. How about three diesels that might be fun to own and be reasonable at the pump? Yes, diesel fuel is no longer the bargain it once was, but these vehicles get pretty good mileage. Let’s take a look at three I’d be happy to drive.

I’d start with this high-mileage, but low cost 2014 BMW 328 DXI. The BMW 3-series is just an all around good sedan and soooo much more appropriate for car guys and gals than the Fusion. The diesel gets 31 mpg city and a whopping 43 mpg highway from the 2.0 liter 180 hp turbodiesel. It’ll do 60 mph in just seven seconds (meh) and cruise for 500 miles between fill ups. I could live with all those numbers. Car and Driver estimated it would take 42,000 miles of driving to break even on the $1,500 additional cost of a diesel over gas 2.0 back in 2014 when gas (for them) was $3.66.

The BMW is adequately appointed with the cold weather package and luxury line, but not too much else. The Fusion beats it hands down in creature comforts, but not enthusiast driving capabilities. This car sold new for $45,000 and is now only $20,998 here in Plano, Texas. Low price, and the high odometer mileage means nothing to a diesel. MaxCare is available up to 125,000 miles anyway.

Stock # 21091771 VIN # WBA3D5C50EKX98028

I grew up thinking of diesels as trucks, and while not really a truck at all, I’d enjoy rumbling down the highway in an SUV diesel more than a sedan. I have fond memories of clattering slowly through the Khyber Pass in Pakistan back in the 80’s in my Toyota Land Cruiser or a Mitsubishi Pajero. So what would I drive now? Here’s a pair of diesel SUV’s in the affordable range – meaning not Range Rovers. But first a shot of my Pakistani trucks!

The 2013 Mercedes ML350 CDI Bluetech seems like an all around decent diesel SUV. Creature comforts are good but not great – no auto cruise control or Apple Carplay (too old for that…the car, not me). The 3.0 liter six turbodiesel gets only 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway, It’s got 455 lbs-ft of torque though, and like the BMW sedan will hit 60 in under seven seconds. Not fast, but for a decent sized SUV not bad.

The 2013 ML350 Bluetech sold new for well above $50,000 and seems reasonable at less than $30,000. It’ll run forever and got pretty good reviews in Motor Trend. Does nothing great, but everything pretty well. It’s here in Springfield, Illinois.

It’s no secret that I lean hard to European cars, and enthusiast cars that make me proud at the pump when folks come by to talk cars (and with a V-12 I’m at the pump a lot!), or that will not embarrass me at cars and coffee on Sunday morning. But if I was normal, I might be all over the car below.

The 2019 Maxda CX-5 Signature is an all around good car. Period. The 2019 Mazda CX-5 turbodiesel called the SkyActiv-D? Not so much. The diesel added minimal fuel mileage, hitting 27 mpg city and 30 on the highway from a 2.2 liter four cylinder. It has a 400 mile range and will hit 60 mph in about nine seconds – not good. The diesel CX-5 got criticism for its performance as a diesel, as well as how Mazda got it so wrong spending so much money bringing the CX-5 diesel to market and abandoning it after one year. But that’s what makes this a bit of a unicorn since Mazda sold the diesel in the USA for 2019 only. I can’t find sales numbers, but of the 146,000 CX-5’s sold I can’t believe there are many diesels. Makes me kind of dig its uniqueness.

The Signature Trim on CX-5’s bumped the new car price to well over $40,000 and featured heated and air conditioned seats, heated steering wheel, auto cruise control, and Apple Carplay, among others, prompting Car and Driver to call the CX-5 Signature “a luxury SUV in all but name“. Every review I’ve seen gave great praise to the CX-5, most every review of the diesel was disappointing . Motor Trend did offer that if you’re into cool engineering, you’ll be impressed by the “rare twin sequential turbos” and the “super cool noise-canceling piston wrist pins that incorporate tuned mass dampers engineered to eliminate three specific frequency peaks right at their source. Diesel aficionados will note the absence of that pigtail glow-plug idiot light on the dash.” Mostly the car is in this blog because it’s a rare Mazda diesel. If it’s your thing it’s here in Maplewood, Minnesota with low miles and a reasonable price. Still under manufacturer warranty – skip MaxCare.

Stock # 20178696 VIN # JM3KFBE22K0652092

And now the bonus vehicle – the one I really would buy if I was seriously affected by gas prices (working largely from home office I’m not – my apologies to commuters who are getting crushed). A car that gets 28 mpg city and 34 highway, and has considerable “personality” and a hint of performance. Autoweek said it has an “exhaust built for a delinquent teenager“. Flawed but feisty.

Yes, another yellow Fiat to take the place in my garage and in my heart of my beloved ’71 124 Spider sold in January. This 2016 Fiat 500 Abarth is selling for only $17,998 and unfortunately is currently unavailable. It sports a 1.4 liter turbo-four with 170 hp, able to move this 2,500 lb car to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds – not great but lots of fun getting there. The Fiat 500 is no longer being sold in the USA so this, too, is a unicorn.

Despite being 6’4″ and weighing in at 225 lbs (me, not the car) I actually fit quite well in these Fiat 500’s due to the slightly elevated seating position. Here’s the shameless link to the TripAdvsiror piece I wrote after my 2010 drive in Norway to the Arctic Circle in a Fiat 500 before they were sold in the US, and before I blogged. (The antiquated Snapfish link to pix is dead, so maybe I’ll throw a few in at the bottom of this blog.) The 2016 Fiat 500 Abarth sold for about $30,000 and isn’t much of a deal at $17,998, but dollar for dollar it would bring a smile to my face far more than the fuel efficient cars above. If it was available, and not here in Irving, Texas, I would have to give this serious consideration for a daily driver to run errands. And absolutely would I buy MaxCare. It’s Italian and obsolete. Repairs may not be cheap.

Stock # 22045659 VIN # 3C3CFFFHXGT120966

Cheers from the Oslo Ice Bar. Thanks for reading – Chuck.