Ask Honest John

Honest John Ask Honest John » How do you compare the fuel economies and efficiencies of electric versus petrol/diesel cars?
What do you think of Elon Musk? Have your say | No thanks

How do you compare the fuel economies and efficiencies of electric versus petrol/diesel cars?

With the coming of electric vehicles, wouldn’t it be better to start referring to all vehicles economy as MP£ or Miles per Euro as standard rather than mpg? As an example, my Skoda Fabia Estate diesel tells me it is showing 63mpg. How do the electric v carbon fuels compare, price-wise?

Asked on 26 April 2021 by Bob Groves

Answered by Andrew Brady
The issue with your idea is it's very dependent on the cost of fuel. Just like with petrol, the cost of electricity varies a lot – anything from around 13p per kWh (at home) to 69p per kWh (at the most convenient motorway rapid chargers). There are ways of comparing the efficiency of electric vehicles – many manufacturers quote the distance an electric car can cover per kWh of electricity, which is probably the closest alternative to MPG. Another popular metric is kWh/100 miles – essentially, how much electricity is required for an electric car to cover 100 miles.

Real MPG enables you to register the fuel economy you are actually getting against your make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.

Every time you enter an average consumption figure against your car, the overall average automatically adjusts to reflect it.

Real MPG

If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?
Similar questions
I currently drive a 2007 diesel Hyundai Tucson auto. It's done 190,000 miles and is in need of replacing. I do about 25,000 miles a year, mostly country roads and motorways, and want something with good...
Do you have a list of cars of any age that have the best miles per gallon for petrol with auto or manual transmission?
Would changing the tyre spec of a car change the mpg? If so, by how much? The Ines we are looking at come with an 18-inch alloy and we are looking at the 17-inch optional extra for comfort. Also would...