The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides estimates of vehicle fuel efficiency in the form of MPG, or miles per gallon. The higher your vehicle's MPG, the lower the cost of gasoline per mile. While actual MPG may vary between vehicles due to driver habits, local conditions and vehicle condition, using the EPA estimates is a good way of comparing how much it might cost to drive a particular vehicle over time.
Instructions
- 1
Select the year, make and model of your current vehicle in the MPG Comparison Tool given in the Resources section. If you don't currently have a vehicle and are comparing MPG to help you choose one, select the relevant information for your preferred vehicle or the first vehicle on your list.
2Click the "Compare Side-by-Side" button displayed along with the MPG information for your first vehicle. You'll then be prompted to select the year, make and model for another vehicle, at which point both vehicles' information will be displayed on the screen, side by side.
3Continue selecting vehicles until all the cars on your list--whether cars you're thinking of purchasing or cars you'd like to compare to your current vehicle--are displayed on the screen. Scroll back and forth to compare the relevant information displayed for each vehicle. If you've decided to eliminate one or more cars from consideration, click the "Remove" link given at the top of each vehicle listing.
4Once you've compared MPG and have narrowed down the list of potential cars, test-drive prospective vehicles, whenever possible, to get a real-world feel for the actual MPG. Either use the vehicle's trip computer to gauge your MPG or, if the car doesn't have such a computer, reset the trip odometer and start with a completely full tank of gas. Once you have finished the test drive, note the miles driven and then fill the gas tank back up to full again. Divide the miles driven by the amount of gasoline (in gallons or fraction thereof) you put back into the fuel tank to get your MPG for that drive.
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