Consumer Reports states that, instead of fuel miles per gallon, they show the range in miles. “That’s a tangible measure that buyers can relate to.” Certainly the government’s “MPGe” number is meaningless. When we are told all EVs get about 100 MPGe, we glaze over. But we can do better. After all, CR gives both gas mileage and fuel tank capacity for gasoline cars.
There are enough EVs on the market now that electric mileage is meaningful. The simple statistic miles/KWH is clear and easily measured, although a vehicle getting 4 mpk may be difficult to compare with a car getting 30 mpg. However, there’s a simple trick to make it relatable.
My Chevy Volt gets about 3.9 mpk when running from its battery. It gets about 39 mpg when burning gas. I shift the decimal point to compare the numbers. 3.9 mpk, times 10, is roughly comparable to 39.0 mpg. It can be described as miles/10kwh. I get about 39 mp10k electric. I can relate to that.
