Is there a good source where I can find the accurate miles per gallon for cars? Is Consumer’s Report good for that? Any place online?
Thanks
Yes, Consumer Reports is a good source. Actually, almost any comparative compilation will give you that.
I’m in the market for a car, and have found http://www.fueleconomy.gov to be very helpful for finding the MPG. You can compare different vehicles side by side.
The link in post #2 looks pretty accurate. Their revised mpg for my car is very close to actual.
Consumer Reports gives you the EPA mileage for city, highway and combined. You can also get this from the EPA website. The new EPA figures more reflect real world driving. CU also gives you their actual mileage incurred when they test the car; this figure is usually less than the published EPA figures, and is quite close to what you would get, except that their test cars are new, so you might do a little better as your car gradually breaks itlself in.
The new revised EPA #'s are a great guide. I would just look at them in relative terms.
Using the EPA site, www.fueleconomy.gov, I looked up our 05. The new highway number is 29 mpg. The old number which was what out car could easily do, was 32 mpg highway. I could equal or better the old EPA number with a 96 car too. I don’t know why the numbers were lowered.
Ask me how to avoid fast takeoffs from stoplights and how to drive at a steady speed on the highway even at 5 over the speed limit and I’ll tell you how to easily equal the old EPA numbers. I will add 11% to the new numbers to approximate whatever I am driving can do.
They lowered the numbers to reflect “real world” driving. For example, the old numbers didn’t factor in using the AC, but the new ones do.
Also average speeds were too low in the old tests. The test iself reflects more aggressive driving, faster pickup, etc.