Fuel Mileage Estimates -- 2008 & later vs Pre-2008

With the ever rising cost of fuel, gas mileage is more important now than ever, so a lot of consumers are paying more attention to fuel mileage ratings as they shop for vehicles.

In response to consumer criticism in the past over the estimated mileage ratings being higher than what many consumers experience, beginning with 2008 model vehicles, the EPA changed the method by which they estimate fuel mileage.

The 2008 mileage estimates are supposed to be more realistic, but this can be very confusing for consumers who are comparing 2008 vehicles to prior year vehicles. Every day, I hear people asking why, for example, does a 2008 Honda Civic get lower gas mileage than a 2007? What did Honda do to the car, and WHY???? Of course the car didn't change, but the method of calculation did.

I would encourage you to go to the EPA Website for a better explanation, and for a more comprehensive search engine. However, I want to make it easy for those of you reading this site to be able to make an "apples to apples" comparison when looking at fuel efficiency, so I made the Estimated Mileage Tool for you to use on QCcarbuyerguide.com.

The data used here is from data files that are available for public download on www.fueleconomy.gov. Model years 1998 through 2010 are included in the data that I have included in the tool on this site. For information on fuel mileage ratings of vehicles in model years prior to 1998, please refer to www.fueleconomy.gov.

The calculation method that I use for converting pre-2008 mileage estimates is the same that is used in the conversion calculator on the EPA website.**