EV, Hybrid, or Gas Car: What’s Best for a Road Trip?
What's happening
Car and Driver is putting three popular vehicle powertrains head-to-head on a real-world 750-plus-mile road trip: a Honda Accord Hybrid, a Tesla Model 3, and a Volkswagen Jetta. The test aims to determine which drivetrain delivers the best practical experience for long-distance driving.
Who's involved
Car and Driver, a major automotive publication, is conducting the test. The vehicles represent three major automakers: Honda (the Accord, a best-selling sedan since 1989 with over 19 million units sold worldwide), Tesla (the Model 3, introduced in 2017 as an affordable electric option that was the world's top-selling plug-in electric car from 2018 to 2020), and Volkswagen.
Why it matters
As electric vehicle adoption accelerates and consumers weigh powertrain options for long trips, real-world comparisons of charging time, range, fuel costs, and driver comfort become increasingly critical to purchasing decisions. This test provides practical data to help buyers understand whether EVs, hybrids, or traditional gas vehicles best suit their road-trip needs, directly influencing a significant market segment's car-buying choices.
The story
As electric vehicles become more commonplace on American roads, prospective buyers face a growing decision: which powertrain truly works best for extended road trips? According to Car and Driver, the answer isn't obvious, which is why the publication took three fundamentally different vehicles on a 750-plus-mile journey to find out.
The test vehicles represent the three major powertrains available today. The Honda Accord Hybrid combines traditional combustion with electric motors, offering fuel efficiency without the charging infrastructure concerns of pure electric vehicles. The Tesla Model 3 represents the fully electric option—a battery electric powered mid-size sedan introduced in 2017 that was marketed as Tesla's more affordable entry point compared to the Model S and Model X. The Volkswagen Jetta provides the baseline: a conventional gas-powered sedan representing traditional automotive technology.
The Honda Accord itself carries significant weight in the American automotive landscape. Since becoming a four-door sedan in 1976, the model has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States since 1989. Worldwide, over 19 million units have been sold, making it one of the best-selling automobiles of all time. This pedigree means the hybrid variant inherits proven reliability and refinement, though hybridization adds complexity and cost to the established formula.
The Tesla Model 3's credentials are equally notable. From 2018 to 2020, it held the title of world's top-selling plug-in electric car before the Tesla Model Y crossover took over the spot. The Model 3's three-year reign demonstrates substantial consumer acceptance of long-range electric sedans, even as charging infrastructure and battery technology continue to evolve. On a long trip, however, the Model 3's dependence on charging networks and charging time presents a fundamentally different experience than refueling a gas or hybrid vehicle.
What matters most on a road trip—range, refueling time, cost per mile, comfort, and convenience—varies by vehicle type. A hybrid's ability to use either fuel or electricity potentially offers flexibility, while an electric vehicle's zero tailpipe emissions and low operating costs must be weighed against charging stops. A gas vehicle's established refueling infrastructure and quick fill-ups provide familiarity, but at potentially higher per-mile fuel costs. The real-world test translates these theoretical tradeoffs into concrete data that prospective buyers can use to evaluate their own travel patterns and priorities.