Should How You Drive Influence What Car You Buy?
How you drive can affect your fuel economy. Should it also influence what car you buy?
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
EPA fuel estimates can be a little misleading at times—especially when you consider how individual driving habits can really skew the actual numbers.
In a segment on the popular BBC series Top Gear, then-host Jeremy Clarkson and crew demonstrated how fuel economy is not what you drive, but how you drive it.
The methodology of this unofficial study was simple, if not a little skewed by Clarkson’s persistent hatred of a certain Japanese hybrid car. The crew compared the fuel economy of a BMW M3 with that of a supposedly more-economical Toyota Prius at the famous Top Gear track at Dunsfold Aerodrome. How? By driving a slow car fast, and a fast car slow.
Driving slow cars fast
Clarkson kept up with the 1.5-liter 4-cylinder Prius in his 4.0-liter V8 M3 for 10 laps on the track in what Clarkson called one of the dullest drives of his life to determine which one got the best fuel economy.
The results? The Prius did 17.2 miles per gallon, while the M3 did 19.4 miles per gallon. At that performance level, he said, a BMW M3 was more economical.
Which makes sense, in a way, even if the comparison is a little contrived and not the most scientifically sound. It’s how you drive the vehicle, not the vehicle itself, that can have an effect on its fuel economy numbers. A Toyota Prius was built for economy, not racing.
A stock 2008 Toyota Prius similar to the one used in that segment—recorded about 15 years ago—is EPA-rated for 48 miles per gallon city and 45 miles per gallon highway. It likely wouldn’t perform well in a situation that called for performance.
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Smaller is not always better
A more recent anecdote about fuel economy and driving behavior comes from Reddit, where a user shared their story about switching from a
gas-guzzling
SUV to a Toyota Yaris. What this user didn’t consider, they said, was the nature of their driving habits.“I basically drive a 70-mile commute daily at speeds 85+ [MPH] most of the time,” wrote Reddit user
Neither_Nerve_6536
. “Of course my fuel mileage did not match EPA which disappointed me. Especially [now] that I have to endure the 3600 rpm drone on highway.”What shocked the user, they said, was that their friend’s Nissan Altima got better gas mileage despite being larger than their Yaris.
Fuel economy not set in stone
MORE: How One Man Turned a Lemon Into Lemonade
A
number of factors
affect fuel economy, per the EPA. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) can lower gas mileage by about 15-30% at highway speeds and 10-40% in traffic. Driving at higher speeds in general increases aerodynamic drag. While new EPA tests account for aerodynamic drag at highway speeds up to 80 mph, anyone who’s ever been passed on the right would know that speed limits are seemingly just a suggestion for some drivers.
So when shopping for a new vehicle, consider not only the fuel economy rating of your vehicle, but how you plan to drive it as well. A smaller car doesn’t necessarily mean better fuel economy at speed, especially if you’re afflicted with a lead foot.
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