Auto Fuel Consumption Calculations
I recently had a brief conversation with a friend of mine about our car’s fuel efficiency. He drives a Jetta that gets approximately 20-22 mpg “regular driving” (whatever mix of highway/city we manage to get) and my car gets approximately 29-31 mpg “regular driving.” We all realize that fuel efficiency matters, but how much does it matter in actual dollars? It’s really an arithmetic exersize but it’s always fun to stretch your Excel skills and learn some useful statistics.
Assuming that the annual mileage is 15,000 miles, this is the table:
| Fuel Cost: | ||||
| mpg | $2/gal | $2.25/gal | $2.50/gal | $3/gal |
| 10 | $3,000 | $3,375 | $3,750 | $4,500 |
| 15 | $2,000 | $2,250 | $2,500 | $3,000 |
| 20 | $1,500 | $1,687.50 | $1,875 | $2,250 |
| 25 | $1,200 | $1,350 | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| 30 | $1,000 | $1,125 | $1,250 | $1,500 |
| 35 | $857.14 | $937.50 | $1,071.43 | $1,285.71 |
| 40 | $750 | $843.75 | $937.50 | $1,125 |
| 50 | $600 | $675 | $750 | $900 |
| 60 | $500 | $562.50 | $625 | $750 |
My girlfriend’s manual Honda Civic gets around 40 mpg (!!!) and I know a lot of folks with sub-15 mpg trucks, the difference in what they pay in gasoline a year, assuming $2/gal gasoline (if you can find it!), is $1,250! At $2.25 (still low around here), the difference is $1406.25. I can think of a lot of really nice things to buy with $1,250 a year.
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3 Comments - Share Your Thoughts
Not only that, but the bigger cars/SUVs tend to need more expensive tires and take more time in the repair shop, thus increasing your maintenance budget. Those little Honda Civics just keep on going forever.
4 or 6 cylinder Jetta? I’ve got a VR6 and have been thinking about getting serious about measuring. I know that as a 6 cyl it does get pretty decent mileage…a tank will last for quite a long road trip. I was attached to the 6cyl because it makes me feel safe (as in i can get out of the way quickly etc)
Love this table. It makes great reference. I wish it was published on national magazines and newspapers so that people understood the cost of driving a huge SUV.
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