How To Get The Best MPG For Your Hybrid

Unless Hollywood’s dystopic fever dreams come true, conserving gasoline is more about saving your hard-earned money than survival of the fittest. However, if you’re hoping to avoid the apocalyptic future seen so often on the silver screen, then driving a hybrid typically cuts back on fuel costs and harmful greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 35% on average.

Plus, if you want to know how to get the best mpg, most fuel saving tips apply to both hybrids and standard engines. So if you’re interested in saving money at the pump (and protecting the environment), then check out these four tips and learn how to get the best mpg on the road.

Unleaded Fuel Only: Unless specifically instructed to do so in the manual, your vehicle doesn’t really need that “high performance,” high-octane fuel. So even if you like to think of yourself as a “premium” driver, stick with the regular, and cheaper, unleaded gasoline at the pump.

It’s The Tires, Stupid: Check your manual to see what the desired inflation is for your tires (most tires run best at 40 psi), and after you fill up at the pump, pull up to the air tank and check your tire pressure. Under inflated tires increase the drag on your car, wasting that expensive gasoline for no reason. For just quarters you could save dollars at the pump every time you fill up.

Pack Rats Beware: The trunk and backseat of your car might seem like the perfect place to store those extra boxes and coolers, but the more your car weighs, the lower your gas mileage. Even small amounts of weight can add up over long periods of time. The more you have stored in the trunk, the more gas you burn up getting up to speed. So keep your car as tidy as possible. Your passengers, and your wallet, will thank you.

Top Off Your Battery, If Possible: For plug-in hybrid vehicles, keeping your battery as fully charged as possible maximizes your car’s driving range and helps your engine use as little fuel as possible, too.

Despite what you may have heard, “topping off the battery” will not degrade its storage capacity or make it degrade.

And if you’ve been driving your hybrid for more than six years, don’t put off that hybrid battery replacement for too long. Your battery might have come with a warranty, which often covers hybrid battery repair and replacement for up to eight years and 100,000 miles.

So if you want to know how to get the best mpg for your car, just follow these four easy tips and start saving money every time you fill up.