What does the acronym 'MPG' stand for?

“What does the acronym ‘MPG’ stand for?” — “Miles per gallon.” It is a fuel-economy measure describing how many miles a vehicle travels using one gallon of fuel.

MPG is a distance-per-volume measurement, so a higher number generally indicates better fuel economy. It is especially common in the United States and the United Kingdom, although the two countries use different gallon sizes. A U.S. gallon is about 3.785 litres, while an Imperial gallon is about 4.546 litres.

That difference creates a common mix-up: an MPG figure is incomplete unless the gallon standard is known. Many countries instead report fuel consumption in litres per 100 kilometres, where a lower number indicates greater efficiency. Electric vehicles may use the related term MPGe—miles per gallon gasoline equivalent—which compares energy consumption with gasoline rather than measuring gasoline burned directly.