Thanks to modern technology, what used to be a hotly contested battle between gas and electric power as the best choice for golf carts is becoming fairly one-sided: electric golf carts have become the vehicle of choice, largely because of environmental concerns. Some communities have gone so far as to ban gasoline-powered models.

Electric golf carts
Electric golf carts use a bank of standard lead-acid batteries to run an electric motor. They're designed to be used all day then recharged all night: at the end of the day, you plug them into a standard power outlet. Some brands also support "opportunity charging," which allows you to simply plug in the cart whenever you're not using it. The two most common power choices are 36 volt or 48 volt – in most cases, a 48 volt model provides better performance. You may also find 24 volt and 72 volt models, but they're less common.

This type of golf carts has greatly increased power and range over models available five or ten years ago. Features like regenerative braking, which helps recharge the batteries as the car slows or goes downhill, help increase battery life. This increases their utility in non-golf situations, but for two- or three-shift operations, you'll need a model that allows for an easy change of batteries when one set runs out.

A distinct advantage of electric golf carts is their cost to operate: it can be five or 10 times more expensive to operate a gas model. Especially for businesses buying several vehicles, this alone can be enough reason to choose electric golf carts. Another deciding factor for many businesses is indoor use: emission-free electric golf carts can be used indoors, gasoline engines can't.

Gasoline golf carts
Gas-powered utility vehicles are no longer as popular as electric golf carts, but for some applications they are still the top choice. With gasoline-powered vehicles you can always carry an extra can or two of gas, giving you much greater range. For farming and hunting use, this is a big advantage.

They're also a good choice for sustained use: spending a weekend away from electric power, or driving quite a bit at night with the lights on. Gasoline engines also provide more power for towing or carrying heavy loads.

Newer 4-cycle engines run cleaner and quieter than older 2-cycle engines that burn an oil and gas mixture, but they're still dirty and loud compared to zero-emission electric motors.

Alternative power sources
Gas and electric golf carts make up almost all of the current market, but there are a small number of diesel utility vehicles, as well. Diesel is often cheaper than regular gas, and also provides more torque, which is useful for heavy-duty hauling and towing. In most cases, they're fairly comparable to gasoline models in performance and price.

For now, gas and electric will continue their dominance of the market – but your next utility vehicle could have a new power source entirely. Hydrogen fuel cells are a very clean power technology being investigated by utility vehicle and automobile manufacturers alike. Prototypes have been created of carts with solar panels mounted on the roof to recharge the batteries. And hybrid gas/electric engines will soon make the jump from cars to golf cars.