Why do cars get more mpg on the highway than the city?

Question

curious...thanks

Answer 1

Simply put, most of your gas goes to accelerating. On the highway, you don't accelerate very often.

Answer 2

traffic lights cause you to stop and accelerate constantly.

most cars get there best fuel economy at 60 mph

Answer 3

because it says "HIGHway" their is less air up their lmao I dk

Answer 4

The answer isn't so much with acceleration but with braking and idling. You have to brake when in the city, as the brakes dissipate the energy the gasoline generates in the wheels. That means you are wasting gas when you brake because you are throwing away the power it creates. Second, you idle at stops, where the engine uses gas but you go nowhere= 0 mpg. Third, optimum speed for fuel economy is around 40-50 mph.

Answer 5

Laws of Physics. Newton's Law. Body at rest tends to remain at rest. Object in motion tends to stay in motion. Inertia of an object. You know....mass...energy. It takes fuel to get a car moving. It takes energy to stop a car (which Hybrid cars take advantage of).  An idling car no matter how efficient is getting Zero MPG. Cars waste the most fuel when accelerating and idling.  

Answer 6

On the highway you can travel for miles in overdrive/high gear with no gas wasted on accelleration.  In the city you are in lower gears and accelerating every half block (if you are very lucky)

Braking does not waste gas.  But the gas that got you up to speed before you hit the brakes has been wasted.