How to Calculate Gas Mileage

Gas isn’t cheap these days, so if you want to figure out if your St. Louis drives are efficient, chances are you’ll first look at the MPG specs for your model. While the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, is a trusted source for these specs, their ratings on vehicles’ efficiency don’t mean your commutes will be exactly as efficient. Factors like your driving habits and environment affect your car’s gas mileage. If you want to see if you’ve been driving efficiently, you should learn how to calculate gas mileage. Below, we’ll walk you through the process, as well as what’s considered good gas mileage.

What is Good Gas Mileage?

Because of the different types of vehicles available, there is no one “good” gas mileage. For example, an SUV with relatively high gas mileage would probably be less efficient than a compact car. Besides body style impacting the standard for what’s a “good” gas mileage, it’s also the same for the fuel type being used in the vehicles. You can expect a gasoline-electric hybrid to be usually more efficient than a gas-powered vehicle. 

Gas Mileage Calculator

If you’ve tried tips on how to be fuel efficient when driving, then it may be time to reevaluate your drives by looking at some numbers. Follow these steps and use them as your gas mileage calculator:

1. Fill your gas tank fully and either reset your trip odometer or record the exact mileage after refilling. You can find out how much gas your tank holds by checking your vehicle’s owner’s manual.
2. Drive your car as you would normally in Fenton. If you accelerate more briskly or slowly or drive differently, your “typical” calculated gas mileage may differ from what you record.
3. Refill your tank and record your mileage. If you wait longer to refill, your calculation will be more accurate as it will be based on a more balanced mix of driving conditions.
4. The easiest way to calculate your gas mileage is to simply divide the number of miles traveled by the number of gallons of gas your vehicle took to refill. In sum, that’s miles driven divided by gallons of gas used.
5. If you forget to check how many gallons you filled up your car at the pump on your gas receipt, you can go by where your tank was when you refilled (i.e. ¼, ½, or ¾) and then divide out your total tank capacity accordingly to come to the number of gallons refilled. Then, divide miles driven by that approximation. This will be less accurate since the gas gauge in some cars isn’t always 100% accurate. With a digital gas gauge that shows you exactly how many gallons of gas are in the tank, this is much easier than an analog gauge, though.

Learn More About Car Care from Suntrup Automotive Group 

You now know how to calculate gas mileage for your drives. What next? You can check out our other service tips and learn about vehicle care, so you can maintain your car in proper condition. If you have any questions in general or about our gas mileage calculator, feel free to get in touch with us.