Drive slower, go electric, don't drive at all? The best options for saving gas

Drive slower, go electric, don't drive at all? The best options for saving gas toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America The national average for a gallon of gasoline is $4.55, according to AAA; that's a four-year high, unwelcome news for drivers as the U.S. heads into one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. AAA estimates a record 45 million Americans will travel this weekend, despite high prices for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Loading... Gasoline prices have been elevated since the start of the war in Iran, and there's no sign of relief on the horizon. High prices are angering voters and straining household budgets. Sponsor Message In California, which has the highest gasoline prices in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom is openly feuding with the oil giant Chevron, discouraging Californians from filling up at its stations. Chevron and the state have been in a tense relationship for years; Chevron moved its headquarters out of California in 2024 after complaining about state and local regulations, and is currently buying oil shipped through an offshore pipeline that California has attempted to keep shut down. In the latest salvos, Chevron has posted placards at California gas stations blaming state policies for the high prices, while Newsom's office is telling Californians they can get cheaper gas at unbranded stations. But where does all this leave drivers? Despite high prices, most Americans are unwilling, or unable, to give up on driving. Americans have been logging more miles since the war with Iran started, according to the analytics company Arity, which tracks driving habits. What can you do to cut costs? We asked the experts for ideas. Drive smoothly. Pay less The key to getting the most miles out of each gallon is driving efficiently. That means smooth acceleration, soft braking and slowing down. Underinflated tires, heavy boxes in the back seat and an unused ski or luggage rack on the top of the vehicle can also make it less fuel efficient. Some high-performance vehicles require premium gasoline. But if it's only recommended, you can skip it without damaging the car, according to Consumer Reports' deputy auto editor, Jonathan Linkov. "All cars, except the most esoteric supercars or older cars, can run fine on regular," said Linkov. Are you considering going electric? Data suggests that higher gasoline prices have many drivers at least thinking about giving up gas-powered cars altogether. Sponsor Message But the data on sales isn't so clear-cut. New-EV sales are still depressed following the abrupt end of a $7,500 federal consumer tax credit last fall. It's also tax refund season, which can push up car sales of all types, compared with the previous month. CarGurus reports that used-EV sales did seem to accelerate in the month of March, and Cox Automotive reports strong prices for used EVs at wholesale auction, noting that rising gas prices "may have positively influenced demand." On the other hand, data from the sites iSeeCars.com showed no appreciable shift in used-EV sales. It's not surprising to see a rise in shoppers' interest before a rise in actual sales, especially for a purchase as significant as a vehicle. "What consumers are viewing on the site tends to be an earlier indicator than sales," says Kevin Roberts, the director of economic and market intelligence with CarGurus. But analysts note that high gasoline prices do motivate shoppers to select for more fuel-efficient or entirely electric vehicles — if prices stay elevated for a long time. An average driver can save $1,800 a year The more you drive, the more you stand to save from switching to a battery-powered car, says Janelle London, the co-executive director of a nonprofit called Coltura, which advocates against gasoline. "Across the entire U.S., an average driver doing, say, 15,000 miles a year already is going to save $1,800 a year by switching to an electric car," London says. "But if you're talking about a big driver, somebody who does maybe 25,000 miles a year, they're going to be saving on average $3,000 a year by making the switch." And as the cost of gas keeps rising, she says, "we're seeing the savings just skyrocket up." Coltura has an online tool that car shoppers can use to estimate potential savings from going electric. Sponsor Message Those savings vary based not just on how much you drive but also on where you live, thanks to differences in the local prices of gasoline and electricity. Yale Climate Connections recently published a map comparing the price of charging with the price of gasoline, by looking at the cost of enough electricity to take you as far as 1 gallon goes in a similar gas car: In North Dakota, driving an EV is like paying less than a dollar a gallon, but in California it's more like $2.70 a gallon. Or you can crunch your personal numbers more precisely by comparing the cost per mile using your own electricity rates, local gasoline prices and the efficiency of the gas and electric