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Understanding EPA Gas Mileage Ratings
Once, in what seems to be a time long ago, EPA gas mileage ratings were an after-thought to most consumers. Today, however, with growing concerns over emissions and rising gas prices, vehicle consumers are turning to EPA gas mileage ratings to guide them on how to purchase the right new vehicles for their families. However helpful EPA fuel economy estimates may be in these circumstances, many of us average folks will quickly realize that these ratings can also be a bit confusing. This is especially true when we begin to calculate gas mileage and find that our average MPG is well below the EPA estimates. What many people do not realize is that EPA gas mileage ratings are merely estimates, or averages, based on how the average American driver uses their vehicles. The EPA assumes that the average vehicle is driven about 15,000 miles per year. I don't know about you, but I can tell you we drive more than that in our family mini-van! Truth be told, it's impossible to get any more accurate than they already do with EPA mileage estimates and ratings, and it's at the point where the EPA will actually tell you that your gas mileage may (and most likely will) vary.
EPA Gas Mileage Ratings: City, Highway, Combined?
The EPA estimates MPG in all vehicles based on different driving conditions. The first is city driving, or traffic and stop-and-go driving conditions. Think of your morning commute, stop lights, and halting for students in crosswalks. That's city driving.Highway driving is, naturally, what you do on a highway, interstate, or freeway. The assumption here is that you aren't in heavily congested areas, dealing with stop-and-go traffic, although for many drivers, this isn't the case at all. Combined driving is pretty straight forward. If you use your car for a combination of city and highway driving, as most of us do, this is what your EPA mileage estimate would look like.
EPA Gas Mileage Confusion
When your vehicle fails to live up to the EPA mileage ratings, you will quickly become frustrated, if not infuriated, because you find yourself spending more money at the pump than everyone else driving the same car you're driving. Or, at least, that's what you think.However, the truth is that car maintenance, driving habits, and driving conditions all contribute to your fuel efficiency, or lack thereof. It's important to take care of your vehicle, check the history if you're purchasing a used car, and make sure you're driving in a fuel efficient way. (Note: Most drivers on the road are NOT fuel efficient drivers!) Another confusing situation arises when we go to trade in our used vehicle and find out that the EPA gas mileage rating has changed for our car. In these hard times of worrying about our addiction to this non-renewable resource known as oil, that can affect the trade in value of your vehicle. The recent Cash for Clunkers program was a testament to that very fact.
Purchasing High Mileage Cars
The best you can hope to do is choose the vehicle with the highest EPA mileage estimates and hope you're actually getting a high mileage car. The next step is to make sure you aren't driving the vehicle too hard and that you're following the owner's manual's instructions on proper maintenance. If the gas mileage is significantly lower right after you purchase it, and you can't determine a cause created by the driver, then you should return to the dealership where you purchased it and request that they figure out what's wrong with the vehicle.
Check out EPA Gas Mileage Ratings for Non-Hybrid High Mileage Cars.
Compare gas mileage ratings on Hybrid SUVs vs. Non-Hybrid SUVs.
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