About three months ago, I mentioned I’d signed up for the gas-consumption tracking site Fuelly.com. Since then I’ve been meticulously tracking every one of Elvis One’s fillups to get a sense of just how good (or bad) my gas mileage was.
I’ve done 10 fillups since the start — I missed one somewhere along the way when I lost the receipt of my gas purchase. The interstate MPG is about what I supposed, 29.9, and the in-town MPG is about a mile-per-gallon worse than I thought, 26.4.
What I find interesting is what has an effect on my car’s mileage and what doesn’t. Oddly enough, having a bad tire didn’t seem to faze the car too much, and since I got all four tires replaced, I’ve actually gotten slightly worse mileage. The tank with the worst mileage came when I turned the heater on for the first time this season, and unsurprisingly my best mileage came on an interstate drive from Asheville to Knoxville (ie, a roll down the mountains rather than up).
(I’m also paying $2 fewer per gallon since I started keeping track. Ridiculous.)
Anyway, I’m re-recommending the site to you now because of all the value I’ve found in it. Even if you already keep track of your mileage without the help of a website, you can compare how well your car is doing to how well other cars of the same make/model/year are doing. (Just don’t compare your non-hybrid car to the Prius; it will make you cry.)
Or, if you’re researching cars to purchase, you can get a good idea of what you’re getting into since EPA fuel economy estimates done before this year hardly mean squat.
Wow, you get pretty good gas mileage. What kind of car is Elvis One?
I guess I don’t know exactly how the heater in a car works, because I didn’t think it would have a pronounced effect on MPG like the AC does. I always assumed it used some of the heat the engine is already creating, but that would make too much sense.
I really wish I knew more about cars.
Also, I think my truck is still averaging a combined 29 or 30 mpg. So ha.