Fuel economy
Fuel economy is a measurement of fuel use. This measures how far a car can go using a set amount of fuel. Its units are miles per gallon—or for an electric vehicle, miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPGe). Sometimes, the term fuel efficiency is used. Its important to note that this is a colloquial term which is used in place of fuel economy.[1] Moreover, fuel economy may be confused with fuel consumption, however, these have different meanings—to learn more click here.
How to improve fuel economy
It may not seem like it, but acceleration and speed during driving have a tremendous effect on fuel efficiency. Things like slowing down a little, not accelerating so rapidly substantially improve fuel efficiency. Also properly inflating tires to their proper pressure makes a big difference.
Savings based on fuel economy
This is a table of fuel and carbon dioxide savings based on the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Keep in mind that the make of the vehicle is not important here. Gasoline consumed is strictly how much gasoline is consumed, regardless of the type of car or truck it is.
MPG (US) | Example | km/L | L/year | kg CO2 produced | Savings from 24mpg ($1.20/L) | 5 year savings | 10 year savings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 | Jeep Wrangler | 7.58 | 2234 | 5,343 | Costs an extra $668.40 | -$3342 | -$6,684 |
24 | Toyota Camry V6 | 10.1 | 1677 | 4,011 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
30 | Mini Cooper Clubman | 12.63 | 1341 | 3,207 | $403 | $2,015 | $4,030 |
38 | Fiesta 3-cyl | 16 | 1059 | 2,533 | $741 | $3705 | $7,410 |
45 | VW Golf TDI | 18.95 | 894 | 2,403* | $939.60 | $4,698 | $9,396 |
60 | Kia Rio 1.1 CDRi | 25.26 | 671 | 1,603 | $1,208.40 | $6,042 | $12,084 |
73.5 | VW Golf TDI Bluemotion [2] | 30.94 | 547.6 | 1,309 | $1,355.28 | $6,776.40 | $13,552.80 |
114** | Nissan Leaf | 48 | --- | 844 | $1,588 | $7,944 | $15,888 |
*Diesel emits 2.7 kg CO2 per liter[3]
**MPGe
Fuel economy conversions
The metric system of discussing fuel economy is the same as the imperial system—the world has adopted the units of miles per gallon (see Figure 1). However, fuel consumption (a term sometimes confused with fuel economy) is measured in liters per hundred kilometers in the metric system.
The unit converter below can help explore this difference between fuel consumption and fuel economy:
For Further Reading
- Fuel consumption
- Fuel consumption vs fuel economy
- Fuel economy savings
- Transportation
- Alternative fuel vehicle
- Or explore a random page
References
- ↑ This is information obtained from speaking to John Heywood, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT; Sun Jae Professor, Emeritus
- ↑ http://green.autoblog.com/2013/06/26/new-vw-golf-tdi-bluemotion-is-most-fuel-efficient-ever-with-73/
- ↑ http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=307&t=11