Whenever you talk about the cost of fuel for any car, one term that pops up is the MPG (Miles Per Gallon) – as it's the universally accepted indicator of the fuel economy of a car.
But the thing about MPG is that the number you see is just an estimate. Factors like road conditions, tire pressure, engine temperature, and AC usage all contribute to the fuel the car consumes.
In this guide, you will learn what MPG is, the major influences, and how to get better fuel economy with your used or new car.
READ ALSO: How to Get Better Gas Mileage
What is MPG in Cars?
Miles per Gallon (MPG) is a common way of measuring the fuel efficiency of a car. It reveals a car's gas mileage – how many miles a car can travel or capable of completing with one gallon of fuel. The MPG you see in cars is an indication of how much fuel the car can consume in comparison to a standard car.
MPG is calculated by dividing the number of miles traveled by the number of gallons consumed.
If your car consumed 10 gallons of fuel to travel 300 miles, it means your car has 30 MPG (300 miles ÷ 10 gallons = 30 MPG).
MPG is typically broken down into three categories:
- City MPG: This measures fuel efficiency during stop-and-go driving, such as urban traffic, where frequent braking and acceleration can reduce a car's efficiency.
- Highway MPG: This measures fuel efficiency at consistent speeds, typically on open highways, where vehicles consume less fuel.
- Combined MPG: A weighted average of city and highway MPG, providing an overall estimate of how a car performs in various driving conditions.
If you're curious about your car's MPG, you can find it in the original window sticker. But if you lost yours, you can get a copy of your car's original window sticker by VIN.
A car window sticker provides information about the car's city, highway, and combined MPG – and a whole lot more. Details like the annual fuel costs, MSRP, safety ratings, and more are available on the window sticker. Some providers also show you how much you can save in fuel costs over five years.
Why Good MPG (Miles Per Gallon) Matters
While a good fuel consumption rate for a used car is usually around 40 – 60 mpg, knowing why this matters will help you prioritize MPG when buying a preowned car.
- A car with good or high MPG means that you will not have to refill your tank as frequently, hence lowering fuel costs in the long run. Any car owner, who uses a vehicle mostly for driving or travels daily for long distances, will benefit a lot from any extra MPG.
- Higher levels of MPG means that the car is more eco-friendly. By burning less fuel, the emission of greenhouse gasses are minimized.
- MPG is one aspect that is crucial when looking for a particular car to purchase depending on the environment one is likely to drive in most of the time. Those who do most of their driving in the city would prefer vehicles that have high city MPG ratings, while those who do most of their driving on the highway would prefer cars with high highway MPG.
Factors Affecting MPG (Miles Per Gallon)
MPG is a standard measure of fuel efficiency but numerous factors determine how high or low the MPG of a vehicle could be. Awareness of these factors can assist an individual to make right decisions on how to have higher MPG and conserve fuel.
Driving Habits
Your driving behavior has an influence on the amount of fuel your car will use. These habits include:
- Extreme speeding and frequent and forceful application of the brakes can lead to serious reduction in fuel efficiency. Adequate speed is also another way of increasing efficiency as the driver is able to maintain a constant and slow steady pace on the road.
- Speeding causes fuel efficiency to be low when more fuel is used to gain higher speed compared to slow riding. It is common knowledge that most cars get their best MPG figures at moderate speed, which usually ranges between 45 and 60 mph.
- Since idling does not cover any distance, the MPG gets lowered when you let your engine run while parked, say in traffic. Shutting down the engine when you are not moving for a long time helps conserve fuel.
Vehicle Maintenance
A well-maintained car is more efficient, meaning the vehicle will use less fuel.
Low tire pressure reduces the rolling resistance and this makes the engine pull more current, hence increasing fuel consumption. Inflating your tires to the right pressure means better handling of the car's wheels, ensuring efficient driving and fuel economy.
Another practice to ensure that the car runs well is to regular oil changes. Doing so maintains the engine's lubrication, making operations more efficient.
Similarly, changing your air filter regularly also helps to maintain efficient fuel consumptions. The dust and grime in your air filters reduces the volume of air that travels to the engine for combustion, meaning the engine must work harder to combust the fuel.
Vehicle maintenance affects a car's fuel economy, so exercise caution when considering a used car by verifying the maintenance and service records by VIN and obtaining other valuable records like mileage and ownership history.
Vehicle Design and Technology
The design of your car and its technology can greatly affect fuel efficiency ‘Modern cars are sleeker than the older ones, resulting in reduced drag and increased fuel efficiency.
Inversely, cars with boxy designs – like SUVs and vans – generally cause them to suffer from increased wind resistance and lower MPG.
Not only that, heavier vehicles take more energy to move than ‘lighter' vehicles. Which is why most cars with the ‘eco' and fuel-efficient branding are usually more compact.
Car manufacturers often equip their latest models with numerous inventive options in their engines, such as:
- Turbo chargers
- Variable valve timing
- Various fuel injection methods
- Idling stop
These inventions are improved incrementally every year, with every manufacturer's primary aim being a better fuel economy for their cars.
READ ALSO: Cars That Hold Their Value the Strongest
How to Improve Your Car's MPG Figure
It has been suggested that the car's MPG should be optimized to save on fuel costs and protect the environment. Here are some tips that will help you to get better fuel economy.
Adapting Fuel-Saving Driving Habits
By implementing reasonable driving habits, you can improve your car's MPG. Here are a few driving driving habits you can adapt to promote fuel efficiency:
- Smooth acceleration & braking: Abruptly stopping or throttling your car is a big culprit of inefficient fuel use. Instead of that, try gradually accelerating and braking. Other than better fuel efficiency, it's also better for the transmission and drivetrain of your vehicle.
- Consistent speed: On the roads, the most important thing about car speed is that it should be steady, especially on highways – this helps boost the MPG. This is where the use of cruise control, especially on the open roads, can be of assistance.
- Minimize usage of tech inside the car: Using the AC or heater and keeping the windows open at high speed consume fuel. While using the air conditioning puts a lot of strain on the engine, thereby consuming more fuel, keeping the windows closed when driving at high speed helps reduce the drag on your vehicle, thus improving fuel efficiency.
Regular Maintenance
Staying on top of maintenance tasks can boost your MPG:
- You should ensure that your engines are tuned up frequently to gain the best fuel-efficient results.
- A benefit of having a clean air filter is that it enhances the air conditioning in the engine, which in turn enhances combustion and thus MPG.
- Tire pressure and condition play a role in the engine's effort to move the car forward. Low tire pressure means higher drag, leading to more fuel consumption.
- It is also important to check the wheel's alignment to minimize drag and wasteful fuel consumption..
Choosing the Right Fuel
Choosing the correct fuel grade, as advised by your car manufacturer, leads to the best engine performance. Do not use cheap fuel that contains dirt because it will block the passages and reduce fuel efficiency. You should check your car owner's manual for the recommended fuel type in order to have the best fuel consumption.
Gas is commonly available in three octane ratings or “grades” and is denoted by the research octane number (RON) and AKI of a specific formula. Stickers or labels at filling stations will inform drivers which pump releases each grade.
The 87 AKI is generally the lowest octane rating and cheapest option, followed by mid-grade with 88-90 AKI and then premium or high-grade gasoline with an octane rating of 90-94 AKI. The different grades of fuel don't burn the same way.
The less octane, or the lower the grade, the faster and stronger it burns when pressurized. While most vehicles perform well on the lowest gasoline option, SUVs and sports cars run better on plus or premium (higher octane) since their motors produce more fuel compression for better drivability.
Comparing MPG Across Different Vehicles
While selecting a car that you want to buy, it is important to compare its MPG to the available alternatives. Here's a breakdown of how engine types and vehicle designs impact MPG.
Hybrid vs. Gasoline Engines
Hybrid automobiles make use of both combustion and electrical engines, providing higher MPG than ordinary cars. Electric motor cuts the dependence on fuel especially in city traffic hence an excellent mpg rating for hybrids good for city driving.
Non-hybrid use of gasoline engines may provide a better MPG but, probably at the cost of lower mileage than the hybrid electric vehicles particularly in the urban driving conditions. However, comparison may be a little in the favor of gasoline cars because they excel especially on highways where there is constant speed.
SUVs vs. Sedans
SUVs are usually larger and bulkier than sedans, and this usually results in low MPG. However today's SUV designs have advanced and some of the small SUVs today are rated to offer near similar MPG figures. Sedans, as compared to other vehicles, are lighter and their streamlined structures mean that the car can cover more miles per gallon, thereby-saving one more fuel for the daily commute.
Electric Vehicle Equivalents (MPGe)
Battery electric vehicles, or EVs, use battery energy to power the vehicle; the Miles Per Gallon Equivalent or MPGe is used to show how far the EV will travel on amounts of electrical energy equal to the energy content of one gallon of gasoline.
Overall, EVs tend to deliver much higher levels of MPGe than gasoline vehicles due to the relative efficiency of the former and the absence of conventional fuels.
Conclusion
It is important to know MPG for you to effectively make choices and select a car that's best for you, minimize fuel costs, and minimize one's carbon footprint. Irrespective of the type of car you own, paying attention to its fuel efficiency can improve your drive. If you take the time to gear up on how you handle your car and make every gallon of fuel that you put in your car count, you will notice an increase in your MPG.
