 In a similar comparison carried out by TrueCar in April 2012 for The New York Times, the analysis found that the payback period for the Volt takes 26.6 years versus a Chevrolet Cruze Eco, assuming it was regularly driven farther than its battery-only range allows, and with gasoline priced at US $ 3.85 per gallon. The analysis assumes an average of 15,000 miles (24,000 km) driven a year, a fuel economy of 34.3 mpg-US (6.86 L / 100 km; 41.2 mpg-imp) for the Cruze Eco, priced at US $ 19,925, and a Volt price of US $ 31,767, after discounting the US $ 7,500 federal tax. TrueCar also found that with gasoline priced at US $ 5 per gallon, the payback time could drop to about 8 years if the Volt were to be operated exclusively on battery power. The newspaper also reported that according to the March 2012 Lundberg Survey, gasoline prices would need to reach US $ 12.50 a gallon for the Volt to break even, while the Nissan Leaf would be competitive with a similar gasoline-powered compact car at US $ 8.53 a gallon.
