Gas vs. diesel vs. hybrid: Which car engine is best for you and the environment?

Gas, diesel, hybrid, or electric? Everyone wants their next car to have better fuel economy and wouldn’t mind if it’s better for the environment. But which engine is the right choice? Ultimately, it depends on the kind of driving you do and how much distance you’ll travel before turning the car over to the next owner. This auto tech backgrounder will help you decide which engine is best, given your circumstances.

Here’s the broad answer: Go with gasoline if you’re a low-mileage driver, hybrid for city driving, and diesel for high-mileage (mostly highway) driving.

The mainstream gasoline engine is best if you drive less than 7500 miles a year because the savings on fuel won’t match the premium you’re likely to pay for a hybrid or diesel car.Hybrid is the winner if you cover a lot of miles in stop and go city driving or on clogged expressways, where braking recharges the battery that powers the electric motor. It helps if you’re easy on the throttle and brake early and smoothly in a hybrid.

If you drive a lot of highway miles, diesel cars — like the 2014 Chevy Cruze diesel — are right choice for cost per mile driven, and most diesel vehicles have higher trade-in values than gasoline-powered cars. The case for diesel is clearer in the premium/sporty segment where the gasoline engine uses premium fuel, so the diesel price disadvantage per gallon of fuel is less than 10%.