It has happened to most people: Suddenly, you realize you need gas. The needle is on empty. The next place to fill up is 30 miles away. But, can you drive 30 miles on empty?
It depends on your vehicle — the empty light can mean many different things.
According to Your Mechanic, if you are driving a Chevrolet Silverado, you probably won't. You've got about 25 miles. You might make it with your Ford F-150 (35-80 miles left).
It will be touch and go with a Hyundai Elantra, Kia Optima or Kia Soul. Better hope there are no detours, because you have about 30 more miles.
If traffic is light, you might make it with the Hyundai Santa Fe or Sonata or the Kia Sorento — you've got about 40 miles left with them.
On the other hand, you'll easily make the trip with a Chrysler 200 (69-108 miles left) or a Nissan Altima (81-114 miles).
Also making the trip:
Mazda 3 or CX-5, 67-94 miles.
Jeep Grand Cherokee, 66-90.
Nissan Rogue, 78-99.
Nissan Versa, 65-85.
(See the full list at: yourmechanic.com/article/how-far-can-you-drive-your-vehicle-on-empty-by-brady-klopfer)
How far would you drive to save money on gas?
The Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing (representing mini marts) asked drivers how far they would drive to save 5 cents on gas.
They found that 63 percent of us would drive five minutes out of our way to save 5 cents per gallon. Thirty-six percent of drivers would drive 10 minutes out of their way to save 5 cents a gallon.
According to the Seattle Times, it's a false economy. To break even on a 20 minute round-trip in a car that gets 30 miles per gallon, you'd have to buy at least 22 gallons of gas to make the 5 cent discount worthwhile. Plus, you spent 20 minutes of your time.
