GET CASH
Loans
Payday loans
installment loans
personal loans
title loans
Services
check cashing
alternative banking
tax services
Money transfers
additional Services
Cash Academy
Blogs
Cash academy blog
loans 101
personal finance
taxes 101
career and business
get involved
Featured Articles
what is a tax refund advance?
what is a payday loan
what is an installment loan?
what is a personal loan?
what is a title loan
the beginner's guide to filing taxes
locations
Online + Stores
utah
Nevada
Virginia
Colorado
Online
Alabama
Alaska
California
Idaho
Kansas
Missouri
Ohio
Texas
Wisconsin
Wyoming
All Locations
Why check city?
About
about check city
Contact Us
reviews
careers
Members
Refer a Friend
Members faq
small business resources
Community
community outreach
Check City scholarship
Warm Hearts Coat Drive
Shade Tree fundraiser
Login
Apply now
Get cash
Loans
Payday loans
installment loans
personal loans
title loans
Services
check cashing
alternative banking
tax services
Money Transfers
additional services
Cash Academy
Blogs
cash academy blog
loans 101
personal finance
taxes 101
career and business
get involved
Featured Articles
what is a payday loan?
What is an installment loan?
What is a personal loan?
what is a title loan
the beginner's guide to filing taxes
what is a tax refund advance?
Locations
All Locations
Online + Stores
Utah
Nevada
Virginia
Colorado
Online
Alabama
Alaska
California
Idaho
Kansas
Missouri
Ohio
Texas
Wisconsin
Wyoming
why check city?
About
About Check City
Contact Us
Reviews
careers
Members
Refer a Friend
members faq
small business resources
Community
Community Outreach
Check City Scholarship
Warm Hearts coat Drive
Shade Tree Fundraiser
Apply now
Login

10 Tips for How to Get Better Gas Mileage

written By
Kimber Severance
Reviewed by
Tracy Rawle
July 6, 2023

No one likes wasting money and avoiding these top 10 tips for how to get better gas mileage is a waste of gas money. Use these tips to learn how to save gas and how to save money on gas.

When you save gas, you save money on gas. When you save money on gas, you have more money for other areas of your budget. Take these proven steps to save more money on gas and watch your budget and savings grow. 


Access the Value of Your Car with a Title Loan


What is Good Gas Mileage?

What is good gas mileage? Before you can pick a car with the best value, you need to know what the best gas mileage is so you can pick a car with good gas mileage. Gas mileage is measured by “miles per gallon” or “mpg” for short. 

So what is good gas mileage for your car? Basically, you want your mpg number to be higher. The more miles you can drive per gallon of gas the better. The best mpg cars can get between 50 and 60 mpg. But non-hybrid cars can get an average of 30 mpg or less. 

what is good gas mileage

What Affects Gas Mileage?

There are many factors that affect gas mileage. Learning what is good gas mileage and how to get a good gas mileage can help you learn how to save on gas too! Getting a good gas mileage car will help the most, but even the best gas mileage car can benefit from these gas mileage saving tips. 

  • Speeding and rapid acceleration 
  • Sudden braking 
  • Idling
  • Driving in cold weather 
  • Frequent and short trips 
  • Carrying excess weight with cargo racks, towing, or trailers
  • Running the AC on high 
  • Driving with the windows down 
  • Driving on uneven or mountainous terrain 
  • Driving a 4-wheel drive vehicle 
  • Having a poorly tuned engine 
  • Improper vehicle alignment 
  • Improperly inflated car tires 
  • Using fuel that contains less energy 

How to Save Money on Gas

If you drive a car, then you should learn how to save on gas. Saving on gas can help you have more room in your budget for leisurely travel and your savings account. 

1. Don’t Speed Up or Brake Suddenly

Rapidly accelerating or decelerating your car can lower your gas mileage. Avoid speeding, suddenly speeding up, or suddenly breaking to save gas. Sudden acceleration and deceleration uses more gas to make your car go or stop quickly. Instead, drive the speed limit and try to speed up and slow down gradually. 

2. Don’t Idle Your Vehicle 

Idling uses up gas for essentially no reason. Instead of idling your car, always turn your car off when you are not driving. This way, your gas will only be going toward getting to where you need to go and not necessarily keeping your car’s engine running. 

3. Avoid Driving in Cold Weather 

Your car’s engine doesn’t operate at optimal levels until after it is warmed up. In cold weather, it takes much longer for your car’s engine to warm up and operate efficiently. Avoid using up gas just to warm up your engine by avoiding driving in cold weather whenever you can. 

4. Choose an Alternative Method of Travel 

Short trips use up a lot of wasted gas because it takes a while for your engine to warm up and use gas efficiently. Avoid driving when making short trips and choose an alternative method of travel instead. For instance, if your trip is only a mile away or less, that is only a 15 to 25 minute walk. Save on gas and walk for short trips like this instead. Your health will love the exercise! Biking and public transit are also great ways to save on gas and make short trips near you. 

how long it takes to travel 1 mile

5. Avoid Overloading Your Car

Your car has a load capacity. This load capacity is how much your car can carry safely. How much your car can carry will primarily depend on your car, but the average can carry around 850 lbs. Avoid overloading your car with too much weight, and avoid adding extra items like cargo racks to your car for the most optimal gas mileage. 

6. Don’t Run the AC or Heat on High

When it’s very cold or very hot outside it can be tempting to crank the AC or heat up all the way in your car. But this burns more gas. Instead, leave the AC or heat on low or medium and let the car warm up or cool down gradually. 

don't run AC or heat on high

7. Leave the Windows Up

Driving with the windows down and the wind in your face can be fun, but driving with your windows down actually puts more wind resistance on your car’s forward momentum. This makes your car have to burn more gas to go forward.

8. Maintain Your Car’s Upkeep

Your car’s maintenance can greatly impact your car’s gas efficiency. Save on gas when you stay up to date on regular car maintenance. Having a properly tuned engine, correct tire alignment, proper tire pressure, replacing bad spark plugs, and so much more can actually impact how well your car saves on gas.

9. Use Cruise Control 

Using the cruise control systems in your car can actually result in great fuel savings. Adaptive cruise control cars can adjust speed moderately to maintain safe following distances. Both of these types of cruise control saves on gas by helping your car maintain a more steady speed. 

use cruise control

10. Use a Rewards Program

Many gas stations and even grocery stores have rewards programs that can help you save money on gas. These programs might have to do with credit card points, earning gift cards, or saving a certain number of cents per gallon when you use your rewards ID. 

The Best Gas Mileage Cars 

When looking for the best gas mileage cars you really want to find the best fuel economy cars. Fuel economy refers to how many miles to the gallon a car can get. The best mpg cars are also the best fuel economy cars because they can go farther with less gas. 

Finding the best fuel economy cars means finding the best cars on gas savings. These cars have higher fuel economy ratings than other vehicles and will help you go farther with less gas because their designs make them more fuel efficient. The following list are some of the cars with the best gas mileage. 

  1. Toyota Prius Prime with 133 overall mpg
  2. Tesla Model 3 Long Range with 130 overall mpg
  3. Hyundai Kona Electric Limited with 120 overall mpg
  4. Chevrolet Bolt 2LT with 120 overall mpg
  5. Chevrolet Bolt EUV Premier with 115 overall mpg

In Conclusion,

Save on gas by investing in cars with the best gas mileage while following these tips for the best gas mileage. Saving on gas helps your wallet and will open up your budget to more things outside of travel costs. And if you need to take out a loan, you can consider getting a cosigner to help.

Keep Learning

15 Frugal Tips that are Super Simple
How to Coupon Like a Professional
How to Save Money For Your Kids

Article Sources

Thank you for Subscribing!
Oops! Something went wrong.
Start your Application
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
in this article
Customer Service:
(800) 404-0254
Quick Links
Online Payday Loans
Personal Loans
Title Loans
Cash Advances
Additional Services
Installment Loans
Rates & Fees
Sitemap
Blog
Company
Why Check City?
Responsible Lending Statement
State Licensed Lender
Terms of Use
Wireless Policy
Privacy Policy
Privacy Notice
Careers
Contact Us
Store Locations
Colorado
Nevada
Utah
Virginia
Online Locations
Alabama
Alaska
California
Colorado
Idaho
Kansas
Missouri
Nevada
Ohio
Texas
Utah
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Payday Loans are also commonly referred to as Cash Advances, Payday Advances, Payday Advance Loans, and Fast Cash Loans. Check City may, at its discretion, verify application information by using national consumer loan underwriting databases that may include information relating to previous cash advance transactions that Check City may take into consideration in the approval process. Approval, products, and loan terms may vary based on applicant qualifications and applicable state or federal law. See Rates and Fees for specific information and requirements. Some customers applying for payday loans or installment loans may be required to submit additional documentation due to state law and qualification criteria. CheckCity.com provides loan services in: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In Texas, CheckCity.com acts as a credit services organization/credit access business (CSO/CAB) and will not be the lender for loans obtained through this site; CheckCity.com will instead attempt to arrange a loan between you and an unaffiliated third-party lender.

Customer Notice: A single payday advance is typically for two to four weeks. However, borrowers often use these loans over a period of months, which can be expensive. Payday advances are not recommended as long-term financial solutions. Loan proceeds issued through our website are generally deposited via ACH for next business day delivery if approved by 8pm CT Mon. – Fri.

This is an invitation to send a loan application, not an offer to make a short-term loan. This service does not constitute an offer or solicitation for payday loans in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia. Tosh of Utah, Inc. dba Check City Check Cashing, a payday lender, is licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (License #PL-57). Anykind Check Cashing, LC. dba Check City, a payday lender, is licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (License #PL-21).  The maximum funded amount for payday loans or installment loans depends on qualification criteria and state law. See Rates and Terms for details. Utah Customers: For consumer questions or complaints regarding payday loans and/or title loans you may contact our Customer Service Department toll-free at (866) 258-4672. You may also contact our regulator The Utah Department of Financial Institutions at (801) 538-8830. In California, CheckCity.com is licensed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation pursuant to the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law, Cal. Fin. Code D. 10.

Please see Rates and Terms to check the availability of online loans in your state. Check City does not provide loan services in all states.

© 2004-2023 Check City Online. All rights reserved