this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2023
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Fuel consumption makes more math sense, especially when doing mental math comoarisons. Litres per 100km or the newer Gallons per 100miles for USA makes it easier for linear fuel consumption calculations. This quote explains: "The advantage of measuring fuel consumption this way is that it makes comparisons easier as fuel efficiency improves for a specific vehicle. That’s because the differences are linear. With miles per gallon, efficiency is graded on a curve. For example, for a 15-mpg car, a 5-mpg improvement is a 33-percent gain. But that same 5-mpg upgrade for a 30-mpg car is only a 17.5-percent improvement to a vehicle that is already using half as much gas. " With litres per 100km a 5 litre increase is 5 litres regardless of starting fuel consumption.
I'm not even American but this is way less intuitive for everyday use. I don't need some abstract measure of how efficient my car is being. My fuel tank is measured in liters, when I fill up i pay by the liter, I want to know how far I can go on x liters. Not have to do a bunch of mental math to reverse the equation for my gas tank with 40 liters in it. I have 40l, I can go x*40 km. Mental multiplication is way easier than mental division.
Well the car does the math for you, but it is meant for comparison when purchasing because range relies on fuel tank capacities. where as L per 100 k is a fuel efficiency rating regardless of tank size. But it it makes more sense when you have a fleet of vehicles and are doing logistics and need improvements. if you have X dollars to spend on economy it is a linear equation compared to convoluted deminishing returns on low mpg vehicle. Like the quote mentioned 5mpg improvement on one vehicle is not the same efficiency as mpg on another vehicle.
Right so in that scenario that measurment makes sense but for the average person in their day to day life it's much less useful. And my car doesn't have a fancy computer that tells me the efficiency. Or measure in accurate increments how much fuel is in the tank. So if I wanted to know how efficient my engine is, the best way to do it would be start on empty, add a liter of fuel, and see how far I could drive it, which is probably why and how that measurement became commonplace. Because cars have been around alot longer than computers.
Yeah, not diagreeing just explaining