Automobile Fuel Cost in Brazil

Gasolina commum in Copacabana is around R$5.50 a litre and in Petropolis it is R$6.50.......changes daily.

Ethanol is the cheapest at around R$1 - 1.50 less.

And your liters per kilometer, or is it kilometers per liter?

I don't track that as I usually walk 10,000 + steps a day. I might buy gas once every 2-3 weeks, if that. We go days, or even a week, without using our car. It's a 12 year old FIAT with a 1.0 litre engine, can't use much gas.

Problem in cities is that parking is insanely expensive. R$6-20 per half hour......for short term. I was just downtown in Rio yesterday @ Detran. R$20 per half hour to park around Ave Presidente Vargas. We take the metro when going DT.....R$15 round trip. And then there are flanelinhas everywhere else you have to pay, so, walking it is. Even shopping malls charge you a lot to park. Uber gets more use than our car does because once parking is calculated, the round trip Uber fare is often the same, or less, than just the parking costs !! I'd rather support a Carioca driver too, than pay taxes via fuel use.

@Alan - here you go... just calculate for a 1km trip: https://www.calculator.net/fuel-cost-calculator.html

But if you're looking for real costs, well, the formula gets more complex. Tires, parts, labor, insurance, licensing... makes that Taxi ride (Uber, metro, bike) seem a lot more attractive.

I sure do wish Brazilian cities were more focused on the costs of private car costs, from the perspective of road building and so much more. I watch as cities (SP, Recife, João Pessoa) become insufferable places given the demand by so many for their own personal vehicles.

MattB

@mberigan

Does a new Fiat Mobi get 15km/l on gasoline and 10km/l on alcohol? Do these numbers look reasonable?

@kolyaS122HSU

You’re preaching to the choir. I haven’t owned a car in ten years.

@mberigan

Brazilians do seem to aspire to be Angelenos. Ilhéus is paving the beach, just like Southern California did in the 1960s.

@mberigan Does a new Fiat Mobi get 15km/l on gasoline and 10km/l on alcohol? Do these numbers look reasonable? - @alan279

Yes, that is realistic. Thing is, the reason the FIAT Mobi is cheap right now (R$63.000 about $10K USD) is that it has been discontinued as of next year. If anyone is thinking of buying FWIW. There are a couple of UBER drivers here that use them and they seem happy.

@alan279

They look about right. Of course, “your kilometer-age may vary.” FYI - This particular car is a very, how do I say, BASIC car. Rides like crap, ok for getting around town. I wouldn’t drive it more than 80km from point A to point B. I rented one for 10 days.

I'm reading that electric cars may cost the same as internal combustion engine cars soon. Would electricity be cheaper per kilometer than gasoline or ethanol in Brazil?

12/18/24  I'm reading that electric cars may cost the same as internal combustion engine cars soon. Would electricity be cheaper per kilometer than gasoline or ethanol in Brazil? - @alan279

Here in Manaus they're much cheaper to operate than gasoline cars, per every Uber driver we've talked to who has one.  Some cautions:

1. The Chinese are currently giving away a charging station with every car.  No telling how long that will last;
2. The cars they're selling here have eight year warranties on the motors and the batteries.   No telling how long that will last, either;
3. The manufacturers are currently providing very affordable financing;
4. Manaus has no highway connections to the rest of the country, so long distance travel isn't much of an issue, except to Roraima and beyond to Venezuela.

Here in Manaus they're much cheaper to operate than gasoline cars, per every Uber driver we've talked to who has one. Some cautions:

The Chinese are currently giving away a charging station with every car. No telling how long that will last;
The cars they're selling here have eight year warranties on the motors and the batteries. No telling how long that will last, either;
The manufacturers are currently providing very affordable financing;
Manaus has no highway connections to the rest of the country, so long distance travel isn't much of an issue, except to Roraima and beyond to Venezuela.
- @abthree

Very interesting. Thanks.

@mberigan
Does a new Fiat Mobi get 15km/l on gasoline and 10km/l on alcohol? Do these numbers look reasonable? - @alan279

Yeah - the normal accepted balance is around 70% I believe, when the lower cost of ethanol is balanced by the lower distance covered - ie if ethanol is around 70% or so of the gasoline cost, it is a better deal... However, I prefer the power offered by gasoline compared to ethanol in my territory, as, at times, I need to go "off road" and need that power...

12/18/24 Yeah - the normal accepted balance is around 70% I believe, when the lower cost of ethanol is balanced by the lower distance covered - ie if ethanol is around 70% or so of the gasoline cost, it is a better deal... However, I prefer the power offered by gasoline compared to ethanol in my territory, as, at times, I need to go "off road" and need that power...
- @Peter Itamaraca

I notice the same thing here, talking to Uber drivers. Gasoline today is R$6.99 in Manaus and ethanol is R$4.99, but most drivers with flexfuel vehicles that we talk to still prefer gasoline for the additional power and the reduced evaporation loss in our consistently hot climate.