auto buffs, pls throw more light on this issue, i wish my fuel guage was digital it wud hv enabled me make a more concise comparism.

a/cs .do they affect a cars fuels consumption 2 a big degree?, cud some1/especially peeps that hv suvs/jeeps give me the average consumption of their cars in intercity driving.my car manual says 40miles/gallon, but my car aint giving moi that!!, its less, way way less!!.i want to know if its the a/c thast is the culprit,

also some1 said that setting the fan a/c on high uses up more fuel than low setting, is it true?, me thinks its the battery that powers the fan,while the engine powers the a/c compressor,thus setting the fan speed setting shudnt affect the fuel consumption

A/C decreases your gas milage of course! To what degree?

ur A/C only consumes fuel when You really need it? because those hot sunny days when ur in traffic or in  town it adds more stress to You engine OR lets say when You drive below 60mph, but when You drive above 60miles and ur A/c is on ur car is strimelined[glasses up] so the oppostion of air flow and external forces like the wind and air pressure dnt stress ur engine, therefore  You consume d same fuel on high speeds with ur a/c on or off, because if ur windows r down ur engine needs more power to fight againts the rushing air flow which is d same power it needs to run ur a/c

babs2aroks:

ur A/C only consumes fuel when You really need it? because those hot sunny days when ur in traffic or in town it adds more stress to You engine OR lets say when You drive below 60mph, but when You drive above 60miles and ur A/c is on ur car is strimelined[glasses up] so the oppostion of air flow and external forces like the wind and air pressure dnt stress ur engine, therefore You consume d same fuel on high speeds with ur a/c on or off, because if ur windows r down ur engine needs more power to fight againts the rushing air flow which is d same power it needs to run ur a/c

Hmmmmm, good one bros ! But what about toyota V6 fuel consumption ? Is it much better,as in economical to use the a/c ?

ok  came across this  link,
guess it answers some of my questions

http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17790&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

I think when you car AC is on,it will consume a littlemore fuel because driving the compressor of the AC requires more power by the engine,it puts more load on the engine ,hence the engine consume more fuel

Consider this analogy.Compare how quick you ll feel tired/hungry when you take a 5km walk,to when you do the same distance with a bag of rice on your head.You ll be using up more energy with the extra laod.so it is when having extra compressor load on the engine

@ poster

what your car manual says is pretty overrated of you ask me. If my calculations are correct that's about 1 litre of fuel for every 14km. I'm 100% sure your car isnt giving you close to that. Then again, if your car is getting a bit old, it's going to start consuming more fuel. Just like babs2aroks said, if you aren't on about 60km/h or more, using your a/c would make your ride consume more fuel. But other than a/c's, there's a whole lot more that affects fuel consumption, for instance, you would be able to manage your fuel better if your car has manual transmission. Then this is something else a lot of people do not put into consideration, it also depends on where you buy your fuel because not all filling stations sell the exact amount of fuel you pay for, then again fuel from flling station A might burn faster than fuel from filling station B.

About the battery, a car just needs the battery to start the car, after that the alternator takes over the job of supplying electricity to the car and it also recharges the battery. If you notice, your car can still be on even after you have disconnected the battery

big father:

Hmmmmm, good one bros ! But what about toyota V6 fuel consumption ? Is it much better,as in economical to use the a/c ?

If you are using the a/c in any car and your driving within at low speeds, it's going to consume more fuel than if you aren't using the a/c.
A v6 engine means the car has six cylinders, that automatically means that car is going to consume more fuel than a car with four cylinders if both are using a/c's

Bros,
No car apart from hybrids can give you 40mpg for urban driving. Rav 4 can not deliver 40mpg for highway with ease. I guess that you are reading your manual upside down

ok, thanks guys 4 ur responses,
4rm my research on the web n other suv owners, it seems 22mpg is about the best u can get on intercity driving,,,n about 27mpg 4 highway driving!!!.putting into consideration the 4wd n auto transmission.