With gas prices constantly fluctuating, it's important to know just how much money you'll be spending on gas for your next car trip. All you will need to know to estimate fuel consumption is the distance you will be traveling and your car's gas mileage.
Learn what your car's fuel consumption is. If you don't already know this number, fill your car up with gas set the car's trip odometer to zero. Once the car is out of gas and it's time for your next fill-up, write down the number displayed on the trip odometer. Fill the car up with gas and write down how many gallons of fuel it took to fill up the car. Divide the number of miles on your trip odometer by the gallons of gas it took to fill the car. This number is your car's miles per gallon, or the MPG.
Look at a map to determine what distance you will be driving to reach your destination. Multiply that number by two to get the total miles traveled on your car trip.
Divide the total number of miles you intend to drive by your car's MPG. This number will tell you how many gallons of gas your car will use on your trip. Multiply that number by current gas prices for an estimation of how much your trip will cost you.
Visit AAA's Fuel Cost Calculator as an alternative to the above steps. The fuel cost calculator will ask you to provide the make, model and year of your car. You will also need to know your starting destination and your final destination. Once you have filled out the form, press "calculate" to learn how many gallons your car will use and what your total estimated fuel cost will be (see Resources below).
