How to Compare the Savings in a Standard MPG Car to a Hybrid Car

Standard cars run off a combustion engine that burns gas. In contract, hybrid cars fuse a combustion engine with an electric engine --- hence the name "hybrid," according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory --- and therefore often use less gas, thereby resulting in a higher miles-per-gallon rate. A higher mpg can help you save money every time you fill up at the gas pump. A simple calculation can help you determine just how much money you save, and may be a helpful factor to consider when you're buying your next car.

Instructions

1

Read the fuel economy label on the standard car in the dealer's lot. Each car sold in the United States must have this label displayed on its windshield or body, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This label lists the car's miles per gallon during both city driving and highway driving.

2

Enter the car's make and model in the U.S. Department of Energy's online vehicle fuel economy database if you're researching a car that doesn't have a fuel economy label, such as a used car that you're buying through a private seller. Write down the department's estimated mpg rates for the car.

3

Divide the national gasoline price average, as listed by the American Automobile Association (AAA)'s online database, by the mpg rate of the standard engine car. This tells you the estimated cost for driving a single mile. For example, if the national average is $2.89 a gallon and the car has a listed MPG rate of 25, each mile driven would cost you approximately 12 cents.

4

Look up the mpg rate for the hybrid car to which you wish to compare the traditional car, using the same methods outlined above for the traditional car --- either using the fuel economy label, or the U.S. Department of Energy's online vehicle database.

5

Divide the AAA's national gas price average by the hybrid car's mpg. For example, if the average cost for a gallon of gas is $2.89 and the hybrid car gets 32 MPG, your average cost to drive a mile would be 9 cents.

6

Subtract the cost-per-mile of the hybrid car from the cost-per-mile of the traditional car to determine how much money you save every mile while driving a hybrid. However, some standard engine cars may outperform a hybrid car. In such cases, reverse the equation to determine how much money you save from driving the standard engine car over the hybrid.