Noise aside, it comes down to travel range and cost. I've owned 2 gas carts and 2 electric carts. The first cart I ever bought was gas and I chose that because it was used by both adults and kids to ride around our neighborhood. I knew the kids would probably ride it until it died. With a gas cart, it's just a matter of pouring more fuel in the cart. With an electric cart, if it dies away from home or somewhere to plug it in, your only option is a tow. Gas carts are very reliable but relatively easy to work on if there is a problem. The batteries in electric carts have diminishing returns on travel range as the batteries age, so you may be able to comfortably reach certain points and return when the batteries are new and then find you can no longer go that far and return a year or two later. Eventually the batteries must be replaced and they are very expensive. In the electric carts I had, a set of batteries cost between $700 and $800 and each set would last 4 to 5 years. When I moved here, the only choice for me was gas based on my experience with the previous carts I owned. I'd own an electric cart here if it were a second cart that I didn't use as often or to go as far as I would feel comfortable riding a gas cart. I have an EFI gas cart now and it's nowhere near as loud as the first gas cart I owned. Sure, I can hear it, but it's quiet enough that I can still carry on a conversation or hear what's going on around me, so it's really not a negative factor for me when weighed against the cons of electric carts. You have to put gas in every now and then, but electric carts should also have the batteries checked often for water levels and distilled water added when they are low. If you aren't diligent about taking care of the batteries in an electric cart, the faster they degrade and the sooner they will have to be replaced. Another factor with electric carts, that is not often discussed, is the lights and other accessories on the cart have to draw power from the same batteries. As the batteries aged in my electric carts, the extra draw of the accessories became such a problem that I ended up installing a separate 12v battery just to run the lights and accessories. That meant another battery to maintain, keep charged, and eventually replace. With the newer gas carts that are fuel injected, I don't notice the faint gas smell you always seem to get with the older style carts.
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