How to Calculate Gas Mileage

Most of the time, we let professionals use their gas mileage calculators to tell us what we can expect from our vehicle. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, tests new vehicles to determine how efficient they will be for drivers. These ratings are as exact as possible, but each comes with the caveat that “actual mileage may vary.” This is especially true if you commonly use your vehicle for atypical activities such as heavy-duty towing and off-roading.

With that in mind, you may prefer to learn how to calculate gas mileage on your own to know what you can really expect from each commute between Lincoln and Seward. If that’s the case, our service tips below will help you determine the actual efficiency of your vehicle!

What is Good Gas Mileage?

If you’re wondering about good gas mileage, there isn’t really a rule of thumb that applies to all drivers and vehicles. What’s considered good gas mileage for a heavy-duty pickup truck would be incredibly disappointing for a sedan driver. With that in mind, it’s best to temper your expectations based on the type of vehicle you drive and your driving habits.

Typically, good sedan gas mileage will climb above 30 mpg on the highway, SUV gas mileage sits in the mid-twenties and above on the highway, and truck mileage can range anywhere from the high teens to the low twenties when traveling on the highway!

Gas Mileage Calculator

If you want to determine your real-world mpg, you can follow these steps to learn how to calculate gas mileage:

1. Completely fill your gas tank. Next, you’ll want to reset your trip odometer or record your exact mileage at that moment. You also need to determine how many gallons of gas you added and how much your gas tank holds.
2. Begin driving as you normally would, and try not to skew the results by adopting fresh driving habits.
3. Refill your tank and record your mileage. The longer you wait to refill, the more accurate your calculations will be in the end. This is because you will have more “data” as you will encounter more driving situations over time.
4. Once you’re ready to do some math, your best bet is to simply divide the number of miles traveled by the number of gallons of gas your vehicle took to refill.
5. If you forgot to record your mileage on your initial fill-up, hope is not lost. You can do the math based on the tank volume when you refill (i.e. ¼, ½, or ¾). If you went from a full tank to a half tank, you can divide the mileage driven by half of your fuel tank capacity. This can offer a fair estimate, but it is far less accurate than working based on specific mileage.

Learn More About Maximizing Your Gas Mileage in Crete

If the results you found while using our gas mileage calculator method were less than satisfactory, our service team can help you learn how to improve your efficiency on every Omaha drive. While you may not be ready to switch over to a new hybrid or EV, you can adopt some great driving habits that will help you save fuel. Not only can we help you learn how to calculate gas mileage and conserve fuel, but we’re also here to offer guidance on all the latest Ford accessories you can add to your ride!