How Much Does It Cost to Drive?

Have you ever wondered how much it costs to drive a mile in your car? Or how far a dollar will take you?

Traditionally, we have measured a car’s fuel efficiency by the standard miles per gallon (MPG). However, since gas prices are significantly higher than they were 10 years ago, is it time to reevaluate our way of measuring our gas consumption?

After reading an article titled “Gasoline’s New Math” on MSN Autos, I began thinking about how much it really costs to drive each time I take a trip to the grocery store or the mall.

According to the article, instead of calculating mpg, we should be thinking about miles per dollar (MPD).

So how do you calculate MPD? It’s a fairly simple two-step process. First, figure out your car’s MPG. You can do this by dividing the distance traveled and the number of gallons your car consumed, or you can use your car manufacturer’s estimate. Next, take your MPG and divide it by the price of a gallon of gas. This number is your car’s miles per dollar.

So how far will one dollar take you? You might be surprised by the number.

Here is a list of some of America’s best selling cars (according to Forbes.com) and their estimated miles per dollar, based on the national average of $2.58 per gallon.

1. Ford F-Series (16 mpg) — 6.2 MPD
2. Chevrolet Silverado (17 mpg) — 6.6 MPD
3. Toyota Camry (25 mpg) — 9.7 MPD
4. Honda Civic (29 mpg) — 11.2 MPD
5. Honda Accord (24 mpg) — 9.3 MPD
6. Toyota Corolla/Matrix (29 mpg) — 11.2 MPD
7. Nissan Altima (26 mpg) — 10.0 MPD
8. Chevrolet Impala (22 mpg) — 8.5 MPD
9. Dodge Ram (16 mpg) — 6.2 MPD
10. Ford Focus (28 mpg) — 10.9 MPD

Once you know how much it costs to drive your car, find out how you can improve your car’s fuel efficiency.

Tagged as: best selling cars, cost to drive, miles per dollar, miles per gallon