I need some help with choosing the best route for my daily commute. I basically have three options:
- 46km (92km round trip, backroads (80km/h limit), gravel for 12km lots of stop signs and traffic lights, virtually no traffic and open fields for almost half of the trip.
- 50km (100km round trip) backroads (80km/h limit), no gravel a few less stop signs, slightly more traffic than previous option (since avoiding the gravel roads).
- 55km (110km round trip) multi-lane highway (100km/h limit), reasonable traffic, lots of opportunity to follow transports.
All the routes are basically flat with a few minor hills.
The best I've recorded is about 7.2L/100km on the highway but I know I can do better with some more changes to my driving habits. I just did the shortest route this past week and managed 7.6L/100km. I'm debating about the middle route as I still have a huge number of traffic lights.
If I take my raw numbers for this week and compare to my "best" on the highway, I see the following:
46km*2*7.6L/100km*$1.265/L = $8.84/day
55km*2*7.2L/100km*$1.265/L = $10.02/day
Therefore I "saved" myself almost $6 this week by driving a shorter distance even though I got worse mileage.
So my dilemma is, what route has the most promise of better mileage? I don't have a Scanguage (well, yet) and I'm calculating everything based on a tank/week of driving. I'd like to start learning some driving techniques but I basically have two very different routes. The backroads have lots of opportunity for me to coast. Unfortunately the majority of it is on the gravel portion as traffic is heavier on the paved portion.
Thanks!