What Does "Good" MPG Look Like

Good MPG is something a lot of people consider when purchasing a car, as well they should. If you’re looking for a commuter vehicle, then MPG is an important factor. For those looking to buy a Corvette, gas mileage probably isn’t on their radar. That said, “good” gas mileage is relative, so it depends on what kind of car you’re getting, and more importantly how you drive it.

What Goes Into Getting Good MPG

So many factors affect how efficient your car is when it comes to burning gasoline. Driving it hard with sudden acceleration and aggressive turning, inconsistent and long overdue oil changes, and an alignment that’s not tuned properly, all contribute to bad gas mileage. In order to get the best mileage out of whatever car you have, keep up with things like oil changes, wheel alignment, and be sure to implement gradual acceleration and gentle turning.

How To Calculate Your MPG

Some cars have displays that indicate your gas mileage in real time. While this is a decent way to get a good idea of your gas mileage, the absolute best way to calculate what kind of mileage you’re getting is to run the car for a decent amount of miles (100 is a good number) from a full tank, and then fill up whatever you’ve used. After you’ve filled it that second time, divide the number of miles you drove (100 in this case), by the amount of gas you used. So let’s say you drove 100 miles from a full tank and were able to fill 5 gallons, that means you’d be getting 20 mpg.

Used Cars with Good MPG

Generally, the Prius is known for getting stellar gas mileage, so we’re going to go a few notches past “Great” right down to “Good”. When you’re talking about hybrid cars it’s somewhat unfair, because they’re designed around the idea of getting great gas mileage by being electric and gas powered, where the electric motor is disabled after some miles and a small gas powered generator kicks in. A normal petrol engine just has trusty old gasoline and no fancy electric motors. While the Prius gets around 60 mpg, something that gets at least 30 mpg might classify as good.

Here are some cars that get at least 30 mpg from the last few years:

• 2014 BMW 328i (35 mpg highway, $21,000)
• 2014 Honda Accord LX (36 mpg city and highway, $14,000)
• 2014 Mazda6 (38 mpg highway, $13,500)
• 2014 Dodge Dart (36 mpg highway, $8,700)
• 2011 Chevrolet Cruze (35 mpg highway, $7,400)

Vehicle History’s Effect On Gas Mileage

Always try to get the maintenance records from the previous owner when you’re about to buy a used car. Those records will tell you what’s been replaced and how often oil changes were done, thus illustrating what condition the engine and the rest of car is in. If a car has lots of miles on it but has been maintained correctly, then the car’s gas mileage most likely won’t be affected by the amount of miles on the car.

The Best Gas Mileage Sports Cars

Gas mileage is relative, as we’ve already said. So if you’re considering a sports car but still are after decent mileage, chances are you won’t find one that meets the same criteria as commuter cars. It’s certainly possible, but majority of sports cars that are faster than others won’t be up to it.

With that said, here are some sports cars that get relatively good mileage:

• 2014 Audi TTS Quattro Coupe (26 mpg city and highway, $29,500)
• 2014 BMW Z4 28i (26 mpg combined city and highway, $28,000)
• 2014 Porsche Boxster (24 mpg, $40,000)

These are all base models, so if you want anything faster it’s going to take a toll. A 2017 Mustang GT, for instance, which has a much more efficient engine than it did a few years ago, gets 25 mpg on the highway, but only 15 mpg in the city.

It all depends on what kind of car you want, what kind of driving you’ll be doing, and where you’ll be driving too. If it’s a weekend car you probably don’t care too much about what kind of mileage it gets, but if you’re going to use it for daily commuting you’ll be wanting better mileage.