We have a gas Yamaha four seater and an electric Par Car. Love them both for different reasons just like our kids.

. They are both used. The Carts. The kids are getting close to 50 but still look new and nice to me.

GAS. 50+ miles per gallon. I am on the go with no time to worry about if I will make it home. No need to carry a rope to be pulled home with gas.

Gas golf carts are permitted on all Village courses. Now, the question of gas or electric. My advice would be gas. Other reason is that the Villages is such a vast area now, you don't want to have to worry about whether or not you will get back home in your electric cart, particularly at night when you need your lights on. With regards to the environment the gas cart is just as eco friendly as the electric. The reason being that when your batteries need replacing on the electric cart, you now have to dispose of 6-8 batteries full of acid. So,my advise, go gas and always use the higher octane gas in it.

For us it's mostly about range. We have a gas Yamaha and can drive from The Villages to Fort Lauderdale on a tank of gas. (not sure what the Florida State Police would think of this) Fill it up with gas and you're back to 250 miles immediately. No need to wait for an overnight charge.
Maintenance is simple. One, possibly two oil changes a year. Air filter and plug every other oil change. Very inexpensive.
Also, gas carts generally have a better resale value.

I posted the exact question before moving here. I received one very critical response making it seem like I would be irresponsible if I didn't get an electric cart. Regardless, I'm glad I chose a gas cart for two reasons.

We have stains in our driveway from where one of my friends with an electric cart parked after it had rained. Would hate to worry about that all the time and think I was responsible for doing that on someone else's driveway - especially if they have pavers or other expensive driveway treatments.

I've also seen near accidents in the parking areas at the golf courses because electric carts are so quiet and people don't notice an electric cart had pulled behind them. Of course (not to be mean but it's true) a large percentage of folks here have hearing loss so that may not make much difference in those cases.

I noticed that almost all the golf carts for sale on this forum are electric. Makes me think they are wanting to replace them. Could be wrong.

You did notice that The Villages Golf Carts have added electric to their lineup......seems the demand has increased so they responded. Technology changes things.

I had an electric cart and was always worrying if there was enough "juice" to make it home --especially at night. I always thought that gas powered was a glorified lawn mower. That was until I bought one-- now I love it and would never go back. Gotta decide extra noise or range --we went with range.

Unless your owner's manual specifically calls for something higher than 87 octane unleaded fuel, there is no reason to use a higher octane. Using higher octane than required in an internal combustion engine has no benefits. These are low compression ratio engines (around 8:1) - little chance for pre-ignition.

I believe you will see a uptick in demand for electric carts if/when lithium-ion batteries become more affordable. They are substantially lighter than the current lead-acid batteries, have a much longer lifespan, can hold more charge, take less time to charge, and are maintenance free. They are currently much more expensive than lead-acid batteries, hence little demand.

I agree that the technology will improve. But I also believe the range argument is weak with the current technology also. I can go anywhere in TV including driving at night with lights and have never come close to running out of "juice". I seriously doubt if anyone actually drives their carts more than 40 - 50 miles a day at most. Few people in the SS area drive to Brownwood and few down here to SS. I did that once and played golf at Lopez and the total distance was about 57 miles including side trips for drinks and lunch. Even when I start to lose range (if I lose range) I doubt it will be a big deal. The gas guys that can do 400 miles never do 400 miles. Charging time is not an issue, I plug in every night so full charge is always available the next day plus I use a Battery Minder when the cart sits for a week or two. As I said earlier, there isn't a right answer, only the bias of individuals so the OP needs to do what is right for him and investigate. He will make the right decision.....for his situation.

My fiance does not like Yamaha carts because of the braking system. Their carts tend to jerk when releasing the break. She seems to prefer club car carts or carts that have an automatic brake when they come to a stop. As far as gas -vs- electric, I can understand that electric carts are quieter. No wonder there are so many hybrids on the road today.

I don't believe that range is all that much of an issue either, at least for a battery pack in good shape. A lot of the arguments against electric carts will disappear with lithium-ion batteries, at least for me. For the people I know, gas outnumbers electric by at least 10 to 1.

Why high octane in gas carts?
 

I assume gas carts have four cycle engines similar to a lawn mower. Why would they require high octane gas? High octane gas is for high compression engines. :wave:

High octane gas
 

I agree that there would be no need for high octane gas in a golf cart. :smiley:

One last comment then I will get off this subject. If you decide to investigate electric take a look at ParCar and StarEV. Both are National companies and to the best of my knowledge, only build electric products for both recreation and industrial applications. Both are represented but outside TV. One of the restrictions here is that if TV operates a business inside the boundary's of TV they will not permit competing businesses. Which is one of the reasons you will see recommendations on here for companies outside TV.