Now that I’ve started to do car reviews, I’ve started to get more of these sorts of questions. Thanks for sending them to me.
In any case, the answer goes something like this. When a car company lists city and highway mileage on the window sticker, those numbers are derived from tests that are done in very ideal conditions. Conditions that you’ll never be able to fully replicate in real life. For example, my Toyota Matrix AWD is rated for 10.2 litres of fuel per 100 km in the city, and 7.6 litres per 100 km on the highway. On the highway I’ve never gotten anything less than 9.5 litres of fuel per 100 km. In terms of city driving, I have never gotten better than 11 litres per 100 km. This is with me driving the way most people drive. That is, without regard for fuel economy. But in the interest of science, I tried a little experiment. If I drive at 90 KM/h (55 MPH) on the highway (which is something that I do not recommend in the Greater Toronto Area at any time other than a very late night or some other time where there is little or no traffic), I can improve my my highway numbers to 8.9 litres of fuel per 100 km. Still nowhere close to the 7.6 litres per 100 km that Toyota lists, but it is an improvement. I will note that that Canadian highways often have speed limits of 100 KM/h. That makes doing this on a daily basis not a realistic option. But it does show that what I said earlier has validity. Plus it also shows if you dive with fuel economy in mind, you can save some gas and some cash too.
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This entry was posted on March 27, 2013 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Hey IT Nerd! Why Do I Never Get The Gas Mileage That Is Advertised For My Car?
Now that I’ve started to do car reviews, I’ve started to get more of these sorts of questions. Thanks for sending them to me.
In any case, the answer goes something like this. When a car company lists city and highway mileage on the window sticker, those numbers are derived from tests that are done in very ideal conditions. Conditions that you’ll never be able to fully replicate in real life. For example, my Toyota Matrix AWD is rated for 10.2 litres of fuel per 100 km in the city, and 7.6 litres per 100 km on the highway. On the highway I’ve never gotten anything less than 9.5 litres of fuel per 100 km. In terms of city driving, I have never gotten better than 11 litres per 100 km. This is with me driving the way most people drive. That is, without regard for fuel economy. But in the interest of science, I tried a little experiment. If I drive at 90 KM/h (55 MPH) on the highway (which is something that I do not recommend in the Greater Toronto Area at any time other than a very late night or some other time where there is little or no traffic), I can improve my my highway numbers to 8.9 litres of fuel per 100 km. Still nowhere close to the 7.6 litres per 100 km that Toyota lists, but it is an improvement. I will note that that Canadian highways often have speed limits of 100 KM/h. That makes doing this on a daily basis not a realistic option. But it does show that what I said earlier has validity. Plus it also shows if you dive with fuel economy in mind, you can save some gas and some cash too.
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This entry was posted on March 27, 2013 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.