What is MPGe

MPGe is the acronym for miles per gallon gas equivalent. It is the measure of how far you can drive using electric power compared to the range you get from a gallon of gas. Instead of gasoline, electric vehicles use kilowatts of electricity. Therefore, a method of keeping track of efficiency had to be created, and thus, the term MPGe was born in 2010. If you’re shopping for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, often referred to as a PHEV, you’ll find both MPG and MPGe printed on the window sticker. This is because PHEVs allow drivers to select whether the vehicle uses gas, hybrid, or electric power. 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, more commonly known as the EPA, is the agency that determines a car’s fuel economy. For traditional cars with an internal combustion engine, this is done by seeing how far the car can drive on a single gallon of gasoline. However, this process is a bit more complicated when trying to determine the efficiency of an electric car. In 2010, the EPA set out to create a scale for an EVs efficiency. The first step to doing this was by figuring out how much electricity was equal to one gallon of gasoline. The answer they got was 33.7 kilowatt-hours (kWh). As an example, the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, available here at Columbiana CDJR, gets 56 MPGe. This means that in Electric Mode, the Grand Cherokee 4xe can drive 56 miles using 33.7 kWh of the battery’s charge. Another thing printed on the window sticker that you should pay attention to while shopping for a plug-in hybrid is the total driving range and electric driving range. The total driving range, as you may have guessed, is how far you can drive a PHEV on a full tank of gas and a fully-charged battery. Meanwhile, the electric driving range is how far you can drive on a fully-charged battery. 

Here at Columbiana Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, we’re proud to offer a selection of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Chrysler, for example, offers the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, which uses a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Dodge introduced the Hornet R/T for the 2023 model year, which is also a PHEV. Jeep leads the group with two PHEV models; the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe. While plug-in hybrids are great, all-electric vehicles are the way of the future. To compete better with other automakers, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram all have fully electric concept cars in the works. These include the Chrysler Airflow Concept, the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept, the Jeep Recon, the Wagoneer S, and the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept.

We hope that this page has given you a better understanding of what MPGe is. If you have any further questions regarding plug-in hybrids, the sales team here at Columbiana Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is here to help. Visit our sales team in-store to speak with a friendly sales expert who can field your questions or give us a call. If you’re feeling confident and ready to get into a new PHEV, peruse our new inventory to shop new PHEV models we have in stock. We hope to hear from you soon!