Mileage or fuel efficiency has always been the top consideration and concern for car owners before their purchase and while driving their cars. This is because a car’s mileage gives an estimate of how long the car can be driven on a single tank of fuel and how much money one will need to spend on refuelling the car. While mileage has always been one of the most crucial aspects of a car, in recent years when fuel prices have risen significantly, mileage has become even more important to car buyers and owners. Therefore, in this article, we explain how you can calculate your car’s mileage and tips to increase it.
What is car mileage?
A car’s mileage is its fuel efficiency. In simple words, for cars that work on internal combustion engines, the mileage is the distance a car can cover on one litre of fuel. For electric cars, fuel efficiency is measured by noting the distance a car can cover on a single charge. There are multiple factors that impact a car’s mileage, for example, the engine’s size, the engine’s type (petrol or diesel), the car’s weight, and more. Moreover, many cars come with special features to boost their mileage, for example, cylinder deactivation technology used in the Volkswagen Taigun and idle start/stop used in the Maruti Swift, Maruti Dzire, and many other cars.
A car’s mileage is represented in different ways in different parts of the world. Here are a few common representations or SI units of mileage.
- Kilometres per litre (km/l) – This is majorly used in India. It denotes the number of kilometres a car can cover in one litre of fuel.
- Litres per 100 kilometres (L/100 km) – Rarely used in India and considerably used overseas, it represents how many litres of fuel a car will consume per 100 kilometres. This is the reason why some cars in India have the option to display mileage in L/100 km.
- Miles per gallon (mpg) – Primarily used in the United States, this unit denotes the number of miles a car can cover in one gallon of fuel.
How is car mileage calculated?
You can calculate your car’s mileage by doing some simple maths. Here are the steps you can follow to do so.
1 – Fill your car’s fuel tank to the brim and make sure the fuel gauge indicates the same.
2 – On your car’s trip meter, reset the trip. Since this new trip will start from zero, you will be able to track every kilometre travelled by your car.
3 – Drive your car as you normally would. If it normally encounters start-stop traffic and is used to run errands, they all should be part of your mileage calculation to reflect your usage.
4 – Once you have emptied your fuel tank and are refuelling your car, note the number of kilometres driven by the car.
5 – Now you can calculate the mileage by dividing the number of kilometres driven by the amount of fuel you have refilled. For example, if you refill 30 litres of fuel and you drove 480 km in one trip, then the mileage will be around 480/30, which is 16 km/l.
Tips to increase car mileage
Here are a few tips that will help you maximise your car’s mileage.
1 – Nothing burns more fuel than pressing hard on the accelerator for instant performance and braking hard. Be gentle while accelerating your car and applying brakes to optimise fuel consumption and increase mileage
2 – While it is understandable that city traffic makes cars accelerate and decelerate frequently, maintaining a constant speed of the car goes a long way in getting the best possible mileage.
3 – In traffic jams or signals, where the car is stationary for an extended period, it is wise to turn off the engine as burning fuel while the car is idling impacts your fuel efficiency.
4 – Maintain recommended air pressure in tyres. Underinflated tyres experience higher friction due to the vehicle’s load, eventually leading to more fuel consumption.
5 – Shift the gears smoothly and use the gear according to the speed. Avoid lugging the engine (driving at low RPMs) as it makes the engine work harder than required. At the same time, try driving the engine in the highest possible gear, to keep the RPM low and burn less fuel.
6 – Use the Air Conditioner (AC) optimally as it puts a significant load on the engine and makes it burn more fuel.
7 – Avoid heavy traffic if you can. The start-stop driving in traffic jams consumes a lot of fuel.
8 – Maintain the car as recommended by the manufacturer.
Summary
For most consumers, mileage comes before any other aspect of their cars and it is reasonable as everyone wants to save on fuel expenditure. To help you learn about the mileage of your car or any car, this article explains what exactly constitutes a car’s mileage, how you can calculate it, and the tips that will help you get the best mileage from your car.
FAQ
How can I make my car deliver more mileage?
To make your car deliver the best possible mileage, you can follow a few tips.
* Avoid quick accelerations and harshly apply the brakes. Be gentle while pressing the accelerator and applying brakes.
* Drive the car with the right gear engaged according to the RPM.
* Use the air conditioner as little as possible.
* Maintain a recommended level of air pressure in tyres.
* Avoid traffic jams if you can.
* Maintain the car and have it serviced duly according to its user manualDoes a greater number of passengers reduce mileage?
The more loaded the car is the less mileage it delivers. So yes, a greater number of passengers results in reduced mileage.
Why does my car deliver better mileage on highways?
On highways, frequent gear shifts are not needed and the car is usually driven at a constant speed. This is why a car delivers better mileage on highways.
Does driving on hills reduce mileage?
It depends on whether you are driving uphill or downhill. Driving uphill puts more load on the engine as the car must work against gravity, therefore driving uphill does make the car deliver poorer mileage figures.
Do weather conditions reduce my car’s mileage?
Yes, heavy rainfall and snowfall considerably reduce a car’s mileage. Heavy rainfall causes increased rolling resistance from rain-slick roads, and the engine must bear the load of water in the air. Whereas, snowfalls cause challenging road conditions as the car must work more to maintain traction and stability. All these factors decrease a car’s mileage in such conditions.
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