What drop in MPG is expected with 15 ethanol gas?

Answer 1

The one difficult intricacy is that E85 fuel will give you lower fuel mileage. In a car that would typically get 20 miles per gallon, you might get 16 or 17 miles per gallon on the E85.

An October 2006 report from Consumer Reports studied the fuel economy of a 2007 Chevy Tahoe, a flex fuel vehicle that can operate on E85. The study found a decrease in fuel economy for all categories.

"Overall fuel economy on the Tahoe dropped from an already low 14 mpg overall to 10," the report read. "In highway driving, gas mileage decreased from 21 to 15 mpg; in city driving, it dropped from 9 mpg to 7."

The report also found that the fuel tank of a flex fuel Tahoe depletes sooner than that of a non-flex fuel Tahoe.

"It (Consumer Reports study) found that it (Tahoe's driving range) decreased to about 300 miles on a full tank of E85 compared with 440 of gasoline," the report concluded. "Motorists using E85 would have to fill up more often."