A Realistic Look At Your Vehicle’s Fuel Economy
For decades, most Americans have considered fuel efficiency from the perspective of the number of miles a vehicle can travel on a single gallon of gas. Commonly known as “miles per gallon,” the number is displayed on car windows on thousands of dealerships across the country. But is this the best method for determining the effects of a vehicle’s fuel economy? As it turns out, no.
There is a better way, though it is seldom used by drivers. Rather than comparing the MPG numbers posed by two automobiles, the “new” method offers a completely different way to view the same data. The results are surprising.
In this article, we’ll explain why miles per gallon is a misleading statistic with which to gauge the fuel efficiency of a car. We’ll also present the new method, and offer an example for clarification.
Why The Current System Is Misleading
Suppose you visit a dealership, and compare the MPG numbers on three vehicles. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll assume Car A gets 10 miles per gallon; Car B gets 20 miles per gallon; and Car C gets 40 miles per gallon. Car B’s fuel efficiency is obviously twice that of Car A. Likewise, Car C is twice as fuel efficient as Car B. But moving from Car B to Car C will not save you as much money as moving from Car A to Car B. Here’s the reason:
Car A requires 10 gallons to drive 100 miles. Car B requires 5 gallons to drive 100 miles. Car C only requires 2.5 gallons to drive 100 miles. If you were to move from Car A to Car B, you would save 5 gallons of gas for each 100 miles you drive. If you were to move from Car B to Car C, however, you would only save 2.5 gallons of gas over the same distance.
Without determining the number of gallons per 100 miles (or, GPM) a vehicle gets, a casual observer might think both moves are equally advantageous. Clearly, however, this is not the case. The more fuel efficient two vehicles are, the less substantial the improvements.
Looking At Fuel Economy Through A New Lens
The method described above for identifying the fuel efficiency of a car is useful for comparing the approximate fuel costs posed by multiple vehicles. Consider that the formula is based on the number of gallons needed to travel 100 miles. Also, consider that the average driver travels 1,000 miles over the course of a month. Here’s an example:
Recall that Car A requires 10 gallons to travel 100 miles. Thus, it requires 100 gallons to travel 1,000 miles. At $4 per gallon, fuel costs will be $400 per month. Car B only requires 5 gallons to travel 100 miles, and therefore only 50 gallons to travel 1,000 miles. The monthly fuel cost would be $200. Finally, Car C only requires 2.5 gallons to travel 100 miles, and therefore only 25 gallons to travel 1,000 miles. Here, fuel costs will only be $100 per month.
The dollar savings in gasoline costs between vehicles become much clearer. You can then multiply the figures by twelve to determine fuel costs on an annual basis.
How Much Fuel Does Your Car Actually Consume?
The purpose of going through this exercise is to provide a more realistic view of any given car’s fuel economy. There are many people who are tempted to sell their current vehicles in order to transition to higher-mileage models. In some cases, the savings in fuel costs are substantial. Other times, they are less significant than people imagine. The new calculation offers a clearer comparison. While it may seem less intuitive than a “miles per gallon” rating, it reveals how much fuel your car actually consumes.
