# Your Car/Mileage

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 22, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060 "2005-08-22T02:15:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/21 "2005-08-22T13:49:01Z")

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1997 Ford Ranger 2-wheel-drive, regular cab, 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual–average of 22. All-time low of 16. All-time high of 26.5. Driven 10,000 miles/year; 5200 of which is for business (part-time independent-contact deliveries), the rest commuting to/from my “real” job.

2002 Pontiac Aztek, front-wheel-drive, V-6, 4-speed automatic–Average of 22. All-time low of 18.5. All-time high of 29.3. Driven 9600 miles in the first year of ownership, including 1800 on a recent vacation.

The Aztek replaced a 1991 Dodge Grand Caravan that got between 13 and 23 and averaged 17.

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**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/22 "2005-08-22T14:05:07Z")

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2000 Ford Mustang (V6 engine) - I get 19-20 mpg - my commute is about 10 miles, so gas price changes don’t affect me by more than a few bucks per week.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/23 "2005-08-22T14:05:51Z")

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2002 Mercury Sable (loaded, 24V V6) averages 24.57 MPG. Median fuel mileage 24.6 MPG. Standard deviation 2.8 MPG. Minimum 19.84, Maximum 29.53.  
Based on current gas prices, I expect to spend $2000/yr or $166/mo operating this vehicle.  
Due to a combination of gas prices and this car’s shitty transmission, during commuting to work I park the car in the right lane and set the cruise at or 1 MPH below the speed limit, or 55 MPH, whichever is higher. Persons wishing to go faster are invited to pass on the left. During long trips I will operate the vehicle at 4-9 MPH over the speed limit because I’m trying to optimize my usage of my scarce vacation time, even at the expense of added gas burn.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/24 "2005-08-22T14:07:08Z")

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Oh, and my apologies for using a certain questionable term referring to fecal matter in the above post. I was typing as I would speak informally to my friends, and forgot I was posting on the 'Dope. My morning caffeine has not kicked in yet.

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**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/25 "2005-08-22T14:17:35Z")

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'98 Mitsubishi Carisma GDi. (I think the spelling is supposed to be a pun.) Averages about 7.0L/100 km, which is exactly what the new-car guarantee said it would. What do you know, truth in advertising! That converts to 33.6 MPG. Not too shabby for a mid-size.

Our gas is about US$6/gallon, and we deal with it by being smart about driving. Fbmf uses public transportation to work.

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**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/26 "2005-08-22T14:20:33Z")

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Ford Club Wagon van, about 13-15 mpg depending on air conditioning. 24 mile round-trip commute.

My wife drives a Ford Escort Wagon, 35 mpg. She hardly goes anywhere, but the van scares her so we can’t trade. ☹

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**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/27 "2005-08-22T14:46:12Z")

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'94 Jeep Grand Cherokee, gets ~20MPG. I’ve a 60-mile 1-way commute, so I’m filling up roughly 3 times every 2 weeks, which comes out to about $300 / month at current prices.

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**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/28 "2005-08-22T15:37:59Z")

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'98 Dodge Dakota, 16 mpg. Same mileage as the '94 Dodge Ram I was driving, just has a smaller tank. The Ram cost $65 last time I filled it up about 3 months ago. Then I got the Dakota, which cost about $45 to fill but doesn’t go as far on a tank.  
['96 Triumph Tiger](http://homepage.mac.com/comfychair/.Pictures/tiger/Tiger%20at%20Daytona%20Beach.jpg) , 38-42 mpg. I can’t wait for fall to get here, it’s just too damn hot to ride to work (I _need_ my air conditioning).

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/29 "2005-08-22T16:32:57Z")

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> [@pullin](#):
>
> I still figure gas is a steal compared to European prices, so I’m not complaining. (Yet)

Is this actually still true? If I did the calculations correctly, I used to pay around $3-4 gallon for gasoline in Germany, in the 1998-2000 timeframe. It costs me roughly 100 DM or about $40 to fill the tank on a BMW 3 series (I had a variety of rental cars during the period, but BMW 323 was the most common). Are European gas prices rising at the rate they are here?

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**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/30 "2005-08-22T16:42:59Z")

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2003 BMW 325Ci. I get between 24 and 30 mpg, depending on how much I want to have.

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**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/31 "2005-08-22T16:43:45Z")

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How much **fun** , dammit! How much fun!

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**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/32 "2005-08-22T20:18:41Z")

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'93 Honda Civic. Gets 36mpg religiously.

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**Author:** ![squeekster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/779978/32.png) [@squeekster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeekster)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/33 "2005-08-22T20:35:02Z")

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1992 Geo Metro, 3 cyl. Approx. 45 mpg city.

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**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/34 "2005-08-22T20:50:44Z")

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Gawd. I knew I was gonna regret calculating this.

2004 Kia Wagon purchased on 3/16/04, or 524 days ago. Has roughly 47,300 miles on it. Which means I’m averaging 90 miles every … god … damned … day. But hey, at 31 miles per gallon, it’s only gonna cost me about 8 bucks for tomorrow’s gas. I’ll skip lunch.

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**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/35 "2005-08-22T22:18:28Z")

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1. 2003 Volkswagen Golf TDi (diesel). Roughly 45-50mpg depending on the conditions. Considering diesel in our area is going for about $3 to $3.15 these days, I’ll take it.

2. 1995 Ford Thunderbird V8, and I only drive it 6 miles round trip on weekdays, so I couldn’t tell you. It’s got an 18 gallon tank, and I manage generally 275-300 miles on it. Too lazy to do the math. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/36 "2005-08-22T22:24:39Z")

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1993 Saturn SL2, 33mpg

I used to complain that the tank was only 12 gallons, but this summer it’s helped lessen the shock a little.

My parents have a '98 Toyota Camry, which gets ~29-30 mpg, and an '01 Saturn that’s basically a newer model of mine and gets ~35-37. All three cars are or have been fairly heavily driven at times - I think the minimum mileage is the newer Saturn at ~130,000.

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**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/37 "2005-08-22T22:25:49Z")

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1997 Saturn station wagon, used mostly for local driving. I get around 30 to 33 mpg locally. Highway driving is in the upper 30s. My wee beast has passed the 95,000-mle mark and my mechanic says she’s good for another 50,000 anyway.

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**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/38 "2005-08-22T22:26:07Z")

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1995 Miata. (5 speed manual transmission)  
Anywhere from an extreme low of 18 MPG up to about 29 MPG, depending on what I’ve been doing.

My commute is all of two miles (one way) with traffic lights (therefore potentially stop and go) and that is absolute murder on the gas milage. Unfortunately the weather (mostly the heat) and the amount of stuff I normally need to drag along make walking or biking inadvisable at best. ☹

But still, I top off my tank about every two months or so and even with the price increase I spend between $10 to $15 to do it.

* * *

\<\< Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks, for your passwords are…available. 😉 \>\>

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**Author:** ![EarthStone777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@EarthStone777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EarthStone777)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/39 "2005-08-22T22:41:04Z")

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1997 Saturn getting 33 MPG.

**EddyTeddyFreddy** mine passed the 140,000 mile mark and talking to my dealer and shop people they say they see Saturns passing 200,000 all the time without needing major repairs.

**Kiros** , I know what you mean about the little 12 gallon tank. I had it for almost 5 years before I ever put $20 of gas in and was shocked that gas cost so much… Now we all long for the good old days when gas only cost $2/Gal.

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**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-mileage/318060/40 "2005-08-22T22:54:43Z")

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2004 Toyota Matrix XRS. 28 MPG. 35 miles each way through New York City traffic and construction.

Daily.

Still faster than the train. By an average one and a half hours.

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