Is the gas mileage on the label real?

Question

the car I am buying says that it gets 38 mpg... is that really true?

Answer 1

i'm guessing now b/c i can't think of any new car that lists that mpg.  any 2008 or newer will do right around what the label says, but most 2007's and older were a little... ummmm... optimistic.

Answer 2

nope its bull, mine says 15mpg city (its a truck) and i have gotten as good as 17mpg city (babying it when it was new) and as bad as 11mpg (racing :)) i avg. around 13mpg and dont race and this is all city miles, but people with this truck have gotten better mileage on the highway up to 5mpg better

Answer 3

Even with the optimistic, pre-2007 figures, I was always able to achieve them in real world driving. However, to do it, you have to stay at or under the speed limit at all times.

In June I drove a 36MPG Cobalt from LA to Vegas and stayed at the speed limit of 65 as an experiment and I got 41.6 MPG.

This month I drove a 36 MPG Cavalier from LA to West Virginia and we drove at 5 to 10 over all the way (and the limit is 75 in AZ and NM) and only got 33 MPG.

Answer 4

Yes, they don't just make up the number...

But if you keep reading, you'll see that gas mileage will vary. The 38 MPG is just an estimate. Hills, cargo, passengers, driving habits all effect the gas mileage you will actually get.