Through the hills of West Virginia poverty is raging. At a rate many percentage points beyond that of the general American population, those living below the poverty line look at the estates of people who drive vehicles like the two in this comparison (Lexus RX350 AWD and Volvo XC70 T6 AWD) and wonder when their day will come.
Interesting irony then, that in a state where so many jobs once came from old sources of energy - namely coal - these two cars use plenty of another old source of energy, crude oil. Lexus basically started the luxury crossover craze back in 1997. It's curious that Lexus strips almost every SUV-like characteristic from the RX350 except its high ride height and all-wheel drive while Volvo tries hard to make what is basically a station wagon as SUV-like as possible. Extra cladding, extra ride height, and the obvious power-to-all-wheels nature are all present and accounted for. And once again, just like in the previous fuel efficiency comparison with a vehicle you'd hope would be comparably inefficient, the Volvo struggles.
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3.54 - total gallons of premium gasoline required by a $39,100 all-wheel drive Lexus RX350 to complete its round trip commute between Buffalo, West Virginia to Charleston, West Virginia
3.73 - total gallons of premium gasoline required by a $39,500 Volvo XC70 T6 to complete its round trip commute between Buffalo and Charleston, West Virginia
14.16 - total cost for the Lexus RX350 for one day
14.92 - total cost for the Volvo XC70 for one day
70.80 - total cost for the Lexus RX for one week
74.60 - total cost for the Volvo XC for one week
3,469.20 - total cost, in USD at today's premium gasoline prices, for the owner of an all-wheel drive Lexus RX350 to drive between Buffalo, West Virginia and Charleston, West Virginia five times a week, 49 weeks per year
3,655.40 - total cost, in USD at today's premium gasoline prices, for the owner of a Volvo XC70 T6 to drive between Buffalo and Charleston, West Virginia five times a week, 49 weeks per year
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Only $400 separates their MSRPs and only $186.20 separates their annual fuel costs in West Virginia at 16,905 miles. Lexus reliability and space combats Volvo uniqueness and relative exclusivity. Oh, plenty of XC70s cruise North American suburbs. But the RX350? It's becoming downright Camryesque in its ubiquity.
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