Regan Brown
With gas prices on the rise, it's important to know how much gas your car needs and how to calculate your miles per gallon (mpg). The amount of gas your car can hold depends on the vehicle, with smaller cars holding about 12 gallons and larger cars holding 15 gallons or more. You can calculate your mpg by filling up your tank, driving 100 miles, refilling your tank, and then dividing the miles driven by the number of gallons needed to refill. This will help you understand your fuel economy and how often you'll need to stop at gas stations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Average gallons of gas in smaller cars | 12 gallons |
| Average gallons of gas in larger cars | 15 gallons or more |
| MPG rating of hybrid vehicles | 40-50 |
| Average amount spent on gas by American drivers per year | $3,000 |
| Federal tax on gasoline in 2022 | 18.4 cents per gallon |
| Average total state taxes on gasoline in 2022 | 31.67 cents per gallon |
| Average national cost for gas in 2025 | $3.13 |
| National average gas price on 3 July 2025 | $3.17 |
| State with the most expensive gas on 3 July 2025 | California ($4.57) |
| State with the cheapest gas on 3 July 2025 | Mississippi ($2.71) |
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What You'll Learn
How many gallons of gas does a car hold?
The amount of gas a car can hold depends on the size of the car. Smaller cars tend to hold about 12 gallons of gas, while larger cars can hold 15 gallons or more. The size of the fuel tank is usually related to the size of the car. Smaller sedans and crossovers tend to hold less gasoline than full-size SUVs or trucks. For example, smaller vehicles can travel quite a distance on a 14-gallon tank.
While knowing your tank capacity is important, it won't help you cut down on gas costs. To understand fuel costs, you need to know about mpg (miles per gallon), which indicates how many miles a car can travel on one gallon of gas. For instance, a rating of 25 mpg means a vehicle can travel 25 miles per gallon of fuel.
You can calculate your mpg by filling up your gas tank and driving 100 miles. Once you've reached the milestone, fill up your tank again and note how many gallons it takes. Then, divide 100 by the number of gallons to calculate your mpg.
There are other ways to reduce fuel costs. For example, driving a smaller car is much more fuel-efficient than driving a large SUV. Additionally, driving with a less powerful engine can also help save on fuel. Properly inflating your tires can also reduce fuel consumption by up to 3%.
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Calculating the cost of a road trip
When planning a road trip, it's important to consider the cost of gas, which can sometimes make the trip significantly more expensive. Here are some steps to help you calculate the cost of gas for your journey:
Determine Your Vehicle's Mileage
Firstly, you need to know the miles per gallon (MPG) your vehicle gets. You can calculate this yourself by filling up your tank, resetting your trip odometer, and then driving until you need to refill your tank again. Note the number of miles on the trip odometer and how many gallons of gas you needed to refill the tank. Then, divide the number of miles by the number of gallons. This will give you your vehicle's MPG. Alternatively, you can use an online mileage calculator to estimate this figure. Keep in mind that your MPG may vary depending on factors such as your driving style, road conditions, and whether you're driving in the city or on the highway.
Calculate the Total Distance
Estimate the total distance you'll be driving on your trip. If you're planning a long road trip with potential side trips, you can make an educated guess by adding some extra miles to your total distance. This will ensure that you budget for more than enough gas, even if you don't end up taking all the side trips.
Find the Current Gas Price
Research the current gas price to get an approximate cost per gallon. Keep in mind that gas prices can vary depending on your location, so check the prices along your route and at your destination. You can use resources like AAA to find the average national gas price, or apps like GasBuddy to find the cheapest gas stations on your route.
Estimate the Cost of Gas for Your Trip
Once you have the total distance, your vehicle's MPG, and the current gas price, you can calculate the cost of gas for your trip. Divide the total distance by your vehicle's MPG to get the number of gallons of gas you'll need. Then, multiply the number of gallons by the current gas price to get the estimated cost of gas for your trip.
For example, let's say you're driving a total distance of 1,000 miles in a vehicle that gets 30 MPG, and the current gas price is $3.50 per gallon. You would divide 1,000 miles by 30 MPG, which equals 33.33 gallons. Then, multiply 33.33 gallons by $3.50, resulting in a fuel cost of $116.66 for your trip.
By following these steps, you can get a good estimate of the cost of gas for your road trip and make any necessary adjustments to your budget. Remember that factors like driving conditions, vehicle maintenance, and detours can affect your fuel efficiency, so it's always a good idea to overestimate your gas costs to avoid any surprises.
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Fuel-efficient vehicles
The amount of gas a car can hold depends on the vehicle. Smaller cars tend to hold about 12 gallons of gas, while larger cars can hold 15 gallons or more. However, knowing your tank capacity will not help you cut down on gas costs. Instead, you should focus on the mpg (miles per gallon) rating, which indicates how many miles a car can travel on one gallon of gas.
If you're looking for a fuel-efficient vehicle, there are several options to consider. Firstly, you could opt for a smaller car, as they tend to be more fuel-efficient than larger vehicles. For example, a small sedan will have lower fuel costs than a large SUV. Additionally, a less powerful engine can help reduce fuel consumption. Unless you regularly haul heavy loads, a smaller engine will suffice and save you money on gasoline. Properly tuning your engine can also improve fuel efficiency, although this is often done to increase horsepower rather than save fuel.
Another option is to consider alternative fuel vehicles, such as electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrids. Electric vehicles are a great choice if you want to reduce your fuel costs and are becoming more widely available. Hybrids, which combine aerodynamics, electric motors, batteries, and start-stop engines, offer the benefits of both electric and gasoline engines and typically have an mpg rating of 40-50.
If you're not ready to switch to an electric or hybrid vehicle, there are other ways to improve the fuel efficiency of your current car. Maintaining proper tyre inflation can reduce fuel consumption by up to 3%, and fixing a car that is out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve gas mileage by an average of 4%. Removing unnecessary accessories and ensuring that cargo on the roof is angled forward to reduce drag can also lead to fuel savings.
Finally, behavioural changes can also impact fuel efficiency. Carpooling, walking, biking, or using public transportation can all help to reduce fuel costs. Additionally, when planning a road trip, you can use tools like Google Maps to find the most fuel-efficient route, taking into account real-time traffic updates and your vehicle's engine type and CO2 emissions.
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Ways to reduce fuel costs
The amount of gas a car can hold depends on the vehicle. Smaller cars tend to hold about 12 gallons of gas, while larger cars can hold 15 gallons or more. However, knowing your tank capacity will not help you reduce gas costs. Instead, you should focus on understanding your car's mpg (miles per gallon), which indicates how many miles your car can travel on one gallon of gas.
- Consider carpooling or public transportation: Carpooling with one or more people travelling to a shared destination can significantly reduce fuel costs compared to everyone driving separately. Additionally, consider walking, biking, or using public transportation like buses, trains, or trolleys as these options do not require fuel.
- Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle: Opt for a smaller car with a less powerful engine, as they tend to have better fuel efficiency. A properly tuned engine can also improve fuel efficiency.
- Maintain proper tyre pressure: Underinflated tyres increase rolling resistance, leading to higher fuel consumption. Check your tyre pressure regularly, preferably weekly, and ensure they are inflated to the manufacturer's recommended pressure.
- Reduce drag and wind resistance: Remove unnecessary cargo and ornaments from your car, as they increase drag and require more fuel. When driving at high speeds, keep the windows closed and use air conditioning instead to reduce wind resistance and improve fuel efficiency.
- Drive efficiently: Avoid slamming on the brakes and hard accelerations, especially when climbing hills. In automatic cars, use cruise control to maintain a constant speed, and in manual cars, maintain a higher gear when appropriate. Planning your route and driving at a constant speed can also help reduce fuel consumption.
- Regular servicing and engine maintenance: Regular car servicing helps maintain your engine's fuel efficiency. Fixing maintenance issues, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can significantly improve mileage. Using a high-performance engine oil can also reduce friction, combat sludge, and improve fuel economy.
- Compare fuel prices: Research fuel prices along your route and at your destination, as prices can vary by location and state. Additionally, consider using tools like Google Maps to find the most fuel-efficient route, taking into account real-time traffic and your vehicle's engine type.
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Factors influencing the price of fuel
The price of gasoline is influenced by a multitude of factors, which can be grouped into microeconomic and macroeconomic factors. Microeconomic factors tend to involve consumers and competitors and can include the following:
- Market, location, facilities, operations, merchandising, brand, and price: The pricing power of a retailer can depend on their other offerings. For example, a retailer may be able to price high because they offer other volume magnets. Conversely, they may need to price low to maintain volume if they haven't established their brand as strongly as their competitors.
- Revenue, cash, and profit goals: Retailers may stimulate growth by influencing prices if they are behind on cash.
On the other hand, macroeconomic factors influence the industry as a whole. Some of the most notable ones include:
- Supply and demand: When demand exceeds supply, prices tend to increase, and when there is low demand and high supply, prices typically decrease. Demand often surges during the summer as more people travel for vacations and recreation.
- Crude oil prices: The cost of crude oil is the primary factor influencing gasoline prices. Crude oil accounted for 52% of the cost of a gallon of gasoline in January 2022 and 61% in February 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The price of crude oil is influenced by global forces, such as geopolitical tensions, production quotas imposed by oil-producing countries, and natural disasters that disrupt supply links.
- Refining costs: The cost of refining crude oil into usable fuel encompasses labor, technology, maintenance, and more, all of which play a role in determining fuel prices. Refiners also charge more for higher-octane fuel, with premium-grade gasoline being the most expensive.
- Distribution, marketing, and retail dealer costs: Most gasoline is shipped from refineries by pipeline, and then tanker trucks deliver it to individual gasoline stations. The distance between refineries and consumers can impact distribution costs, with prices in remote locations being higher due to transportation costs. Retail dealer costs include wages, salaries, benefits, equipment, rent, insurance, and more.
- Taxes: Federal, state, and local government taxes contribute to the retail price of gasoline. In the U.S., the federal tax on motor gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon, while state taxes and fees averaged 32.44 cents per gallon as of January 1, 2024. Some states have additional taxes, leading to higher fuel prices in those areas.
- Weather and seasonal variations: Weather events and seasonal variations can impact the balance between supply and demand, influencing fuel prices.
- Geopolitical events: Events such as the Russia/Ukraine conflict can impact the oil market and subsequently affect gasoline prices.
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Frequently asked questions
This depends on the make and model of your car. Smaller cars tend to hold about 12 gallons of gas, while larger cars hold as much as 15 gallons or more.
You can calculate your car's fuel economy by filling up your gas tank, driving 100 miles, refilling your tank, and then dividing the number of miles by the number of gallons it took to refill. This will give you your car's mpg (miles per gallon).
There are several ways to reduce fuel costs:
- Drive a smaller, more fuel-efficient car.
- Ensure your tires are properly inflated.
- Avoid adding accessories that increase drag, such as spoilers or roof racks.
- Carpool or use public transportation when possible.
