So a few weeks ago I read about 'hypermiling,'a method of increasing your car's gas mileage by making skillful changes in the way you drive, allowing you to save gas and thereby have an easier time withstanding the rising oil and gas prices.My car is a 1999 Ford Escort, which, according to mpgbuddy.com, is designed to get 28 mpg in the city, 37 mpg on the highway, and 32 mpg combined.
Long story short, over past week I've done my best to use hypermiling techniques. Today when I filled up, I discovered that I had achieved 42 mpg! Not bad, considering that about half of my commute is city driving. At $4/gallon, that drops my per-mile cost from $0.125 to $0.095. A whopping 24% cost savings. (Can someone double-check my math, please?)
Has anyone else had any experiences with hypermiling?
1 comment:
Hey Bruce, I recently purchased a 1999 Ford Escort Sport 5spd for the sole purpose of saving real cash each month. After applying a few hypermiling 'tricks', I increased my avg mpg from 32-37mpg to 40mpg. It's a 3x increase from my previous vehicle. I used to commute with a '93 Suburban 4x4 (ouch). I still use the Suburban to launch my sailboat at a nearby lake. I bought the Escort because it's one of the least expensive, quality vehicles with great mpg. I paid $3000 for mine with 75k miles using my home equity line. My monthly payment is about $20. I'm saving >$120/month on gas with no cash outlay, even after having to purchase an additional car insurance policy. But now, since it's getting hotter in Cincinnati, keeping the a/c off is quite a challenge. I need to seriously look into getting the windows tinted. Where does one buy ice jackets? -Bob H.
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