What Is MPGe? Everything You Need To Know

By Andrew Ganz 06/27/2023 4:00pm

Quick Facts About MPGe

MPGe is the unit of measurement for an electric car’s energy consumption level to compare with gas-powered vehicles’ fuel consumption.
A good MPGe rating means an EV makes efficient use of its electrical power and doesn’t necessarily mean it has the best electric range.
A gas-powered car earning 35 miles per gallon is considered to be great. EVs can get 100 MPGe with ease.

If you’ve shopped for an electrified car, you likely encountered a term in the car specs or on the window sticker and wondered, “What is MPGe?”

Let’s take a deep dive into MPGe to explain what it is and how to use the number. These measurements will become much more prevalent as hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), fully electric cars (EVs), and fuel-cell vehicles become the new normal.

What Does MPGe Mean?

MPGe is a measurement of fuel efficiency for hybrid and electric cars that stands for miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent. Unlike a gas car’s MPG, which is calculated using a simple formula, such a figure is not obtainable when a battery from a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully electric vehicle uses electricity as its fuel source.

That’s why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came up with the unit of measurement for the electric car’s energy consumption level to compare with gas-powered vehicles.

Every window sticker at the dealership (see the example above for the 2022 Kia EV6 GT Line) is federally mandated to show the MPGe when it’s an electrified car, or MPG when it’s a gas-fueled vehicle.

How Is MPGe Calculated?

A car that uses 33.7 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity to travel 100 miles rates 100 MPGe. When the EPA devised MPGe in the early 2000s, the government agency calculated that 33.7 kWh of electricity is comparable to a gallon of fuel in terms of its energy content.

True, pulling 33.7 kWh of electricity from the grid in a place dependent on coal power is not quite the same as using wind power. But such an average makes for a more reasonable comparison applicable to drivers.

This is simple enough for fully electric cars that do not contain an internal combustion engine. The math gets trickier for a PHEV such as a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid or a Toyota Prius Prime. These vehicles use an MPGe rating when driven on electric power only, with conventional MPG ratings applying once their batteries are depleted and their gas engine kicks on.

MPGe is an important way to compare how efficient an electrified car is because it is linked directly to how much it costs to charge up the vehicle and how much power the EV needs to draw from the grid to top off its battery.

To be clear, good MPGe ratings don’t necessarily mean the best electric range. Instead, a high MPGe rating shows that a car makes the best use of its electrical power.

MPGe vs. MPG

When it comes to MPGe for electric vehicles and MPG for gasoline-powered cars, they might seem very similar. But there’s a big difference between the two.

The formula for MPGe can be calculated like this: 33.7 kWh of electricity = 1 gallon of gas. Some cars can get 100 MPGe. However, this can be misleading if you’re looking at this number for how much money you will be spending on fill-ups. It would be more accurate to look at the car’s 5-Year Cost to Own and calculate how much your home electricity bill would be.

On the flip side, MPG is the gas equivalent to electric power. This number can be significantly lower than electrified cars. A car with 35 miles per gallon is considered to be great. EVs can get 100 MPGe with ease.

The miles per gallon formula works like this: Miles driven divided by gallons used = MPG. This MPG formula is much easier to understand.

Battery-Powered Electric Cars With the Best MPGe

Expect this list to change rapidly over the next few years as battery-powered electric vehicles become more common, more energy-efficient, and more advanced.

According to EPA figures, here’s a look at some of the top cars for the 2023 model year with the best MPGe, including their estimated annual fueling (using electricity and a 15,000-mile annual estimate) cost and their estimated electric range:

2023 Lucid Air Touring AWD w/19-inch wheels: 140 MPGe – $500 – 425 miles
2023 Lucid Air Pure AWD w/19-inch wheels: 140 MPGe – $500 – 410 miles
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Standard Range RWD: 135 MPGe – $500 – 240 miles
2023 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range RWD: 132 MPGe – $550 – 272 miles
2023 Lucid Air Grand Touring XR AWD w/19 inch wheels: 131 MPGe – $550 – 516 miles
2023 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD: 131 MPGe – $550 – 358 miles
2023 Tesla Model Y AWD: 123 MPGe – $600 – 279 miles
2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD: 122 MPGe – $600 – 330 miles
2023 Lucid Air models w/20- and 21-inch wheels: 121 MPGe – $600 – 384-469 miles
2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV: 120 MPGe – $600 – 259 miles
2023 Hyundai Kona Electric: 120 MPGe – $600 – 258 miles
2023 Tesla Model S: 120 MPGe – $600 – 405 miles
2023 Toyota bZ4X: 119 MPGe – $600 – 252 miles
2023 Kia EV6 Long Range RWD: 117 MPGe – $600 – 310 miles

What MPGe cannot offer is a price comparison. The cost of a kWh varies considerably by region and whether you charge the electric car at home or a public charging station. Instead, a new EV’s window sticker shows an estimated annual electric cost to compare with one on a new gas-fueled model.

Kelley Blue Book factors such information into its Total Cost of Ownership Tool, a useful way to compare how much a vehicle will cost an average driver over five years.