Does E85 Make Sense With Gas Prices So High?

What Car Shoppers Need to Know

• The national average price of regular gas is high, but E85 is significantly cheaper.
• Vehicles using E85 are less efficient than when using regular gas.
• Some vehicles are so much less efficient that fuel cost savings are offset by an increased cost per mile.
• Potential savings are so minor that they should not be the sole determining factor in a vehicle purchase.

Cars that can run on E85 have the option of refueling with the cheaper ethanol-based fuel, which is currently “just” $3.22/gallon, or 23% less than the AAA-reported national average price of regular gas at the time of this writing, which is approximately $4.16 per gallon. E85 isn’t available at all stations, but if it is available, should you use it? That math seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Buying cheaper fuel means you save money. But there’s a catch.

Related: What Is Flex Fuel?

E85 is less energy-dense than gasoline, and vehicles using it travel between15% to 27% fewer miles per gallon, according to the EPA. While you may be spending less money at the gas pump, you will be refueling more frequently. Depending on how much less efficient a flex-fuel vehicle is, flex fuel may not actually represent a savings. You’ll have to do (ugh) more math to figure it out.

Will E85 Save You Money?

The EPA’s fuel economy website shows flex-fuel vehicle ratings for gasoline and E85, so we can compare apples to apples. We’ll use one of our favorite affordable vehicles, the 2026 Chevrolet Trax, as well as a slightly older 2018 Ram 1500 with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 and a popular early flex-fuel vehicle, the 2009 Chevrolet Impala. All calculations use the current national average pricing of $4.16 for regular and $3.22 for E85.

The results show that Impala and Ram owners should stick to regular gas at current fuel prices. For the Trax, owners could actually save a bit of money. These savings — or losses — are amplified by how many miles the vehicle is driven. The more you drive a Trax, the more you’ll save at current prices, while the opposite will happen for the Impala and Ram.

How Do I Know If My Car Runs on E85?

There are a few different ways to find out if your vehicle runs on E85. The most reliable method is to check your owner’s manual. If you don’t have a physical copy, one can usually be found online. There are also usually visual cues on flex-fuel vehicles. The gas filler cap might be yellow instead of black, or there might be a yellow ring around a capless filler. The fuel door itself may also have information about acceptable fuels to use. Flex-fuel vehicles also usually have some sort of exterior badging with the words “flex fuel” or the acronym “FFV.” If you can’t find the information in your owner’s manual and don’t see any of the badging, labeling or other visual cues, your safest bet is to stay away from E85 and avoid the risk of damage to your engine.

Should You Buy a Flex-Fuel Vehicle Just to Save On Gas?

This answer depends on many factors. Perhaps E85 gas is prevalent where you live and even less expensive than regular gas; E85 is available at around 5,000 gas stations in the U.S. On the other hand, E85 may be so hard to find that you’ll have to drive out of your way just to find a gas station that supplies it or the price difference may be less. Fuel prices are constantly fluctuating, too, so the calculation is always changing.

Most likely, the answer is that no, purchasing a flex-fuel vehicle because you’ll save at the pump should not be your primary reason for the purchase because the potential monetary savings or costs of using E85 are low. If you’re shopping for a new or new-to-you vehicle, there are just six new flex-fuel vehicles currently on sale, according to the EPA, but many more available as used models.

2026 E85-Compatible Models

• Buick Encore GX
• Buick Envista
• Chevrolet Silverado
• Chevrolet Trailblazer
• Chevrolet Trax
• GMC Sierra

While these vehicles might save money by using E85, those savings will likely be offset by the purchase cost, and it could take you decades to break even, depending on your driving habits. Remember, the Trax only saves drivers a fraction of a cent per mile driven at current national average prices. 

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