How to Figure out Your Vehicle’s Gas Mileage
Hybrid cars offer the best fuel economy without having an all-electric powertrain. But not everyone can just walk in and get one. However, you can still save some money at the pump by finding out your current vehicle’s gas mileage and see if you can improve it with a few tips.
Why gas mileage is so important
Gasoline mileage is the number of miles you can drive on a given amount of fuel. With prices at the pump so high, you want to limit your car’s gas mileage. This is one of the main reasons why gas mileage is so important. Stations across the country are seeing prices up to $5 a gallon or more.
Vehicles today are required to provide a miles per gallon (mpg) rating to show how fuel efficient they are. This is usually calculated from the kilometers traveled in the city on the freeway and both together. Normally, highway mpg is often five or more mpg more than city driving because you don’t have all the stop-and-go traffic or idling at traffic lights. Anyone who buys a vehicle knows what to expect in terms of fuel savings.
However, the figure given for the new vehicle also depends on your driving habits and whether you are towing additional weight from a trailer. Other factors affecting fuel economy are poor maintenance and long periods of idle time, e.g. B. when warming up the vehicle in winter.
How do you know how much fuel your vehicle uses?
To determine your vehicle’s gas mileage, you want to know how much fuel you used from one fill-up to the next. So you start by filling up your car. At this point, before you leave the pump, make a note of the mileage. Once it’s ready, you can go about your daily commutes. The next time you fill up, you must write down the mileage again.
Subtract the previous mileage from the current mileage, according to Erie Insurance, and you have the number of miles you’ve traveled. You can also use the trip feature, which is often found in the vehicle’s driving information menus. This will show you the miles you’ve clocked up and you don’t have to do the math for that part.
Next look at the pump and see how many gallons it took to fill the car. You need to divide this number by the kilometers traveled. For example, if you drove 200 miles on one tank of gas and it took 7 gallons to fill up, you would divide 200 by 7 to get 28.6 mpg for that particular trip. It will be different every time you do it.
What is good gas mileage and how do you get it?
So what is “good” gas mileage? The short answer would be that you drive the furthest while using less gas. But there is a bit more to it than that. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will help you determine whether or not the mpg number is beneficial for your vehicle.
One given a perfect score can achieve 44 or more mpg on one tank of gas. At the opposite end, the EPA only gets about 14mpg or even less with the lowest possible rating. If you find that your car isn’t getting great mileage, there are a few ways to improve the numbers so you can save a little more fuel.
One of the best ways to get better gas mileage is to keep your vehicle in good condition. Regular maintenance, like inflating your tires, changing the oil at reasonable intervals, and ensuring a clean air filter will help your vehicle go further on a single tank of gas.
You can also plan travel routes by avoiding rush hour traffic and roadworks detours. Also, consider using your cruise control at advertised speeds to avoid burning too much fuel as you speed down the road.
While gas prices remain high, you should save as much money as possible on fuel. Find out how much mpg your vehicle is getting on average and see if you can improve mileage with a few simple tips.
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