The cars that can cover the most kilometres on reserve

When the warning light comes on, it is time to stop at a petrol station, but how many kilometres can a car cover on reserve?

It often happens that, when a beep starts sounding or a light comes on in a car’s instrument cluster, the driver’s alarms go off. Fearing a breakdown or, in this case, running out of fuel, the indications or signals the vehicle gives us call for a stop at a service station to refuel.

But it also happens that, due to the location of petrol stations or the distance still to go to the destination, it is not always possible to refuel once the warning appears that the car is using the fuel in reserve.

Most drivers think their vehicles can cover just over 20 or 30 km with the fuel warning light on but, broadly speaking, the reserve range is greater.

How to find out how many kilometres a car can cover on reserve

The best way to find out is to do the test. Obviously, the risk of ending up calling a roadside assistance vehicle to bring us a few litres so we can refuel the tank is high.

But, apart from this drawback, there is the fact that it cannot be generalised. Not only does each brand or model have a different volume of reserved litres of fuel, but, depending on use and driving style, consumption can be higher or lower, so it is also practical to rely on the averages that comparethemarket.com has compiled, so as not to tempt fate by getting stranded in the middle of the road while experimenting.

The brands that cover the most kilometres on reserve

In a study carried out with 96 vehicles from 29 manufacturers, this platform performed an individual test of each vehicle, offering rankings by brand and model, both for those that covered the maximum and the minimum distances from the moment the warning light came on.

Thus, by brand, the following ranking and the average kilometres achieved are established.

The models that cover the most kilometres on reserve

As for models, the ranking broadly matches the brand ranking, with the exception of the Mazda 6, which squeezes into the top ten, and unlike Lexus, which, despite its good position as a manufacturer, does not place any model among those with the greatest capacity.

As can be seen in both rankings, the cars that cover the most kilometres with the fuel tank on reserve exceed or come close to 100 km.

But which cars are most compromised in their movement once the reserve warning light has come on? According to the study’s data, the car analysed with the fewest kilometres available on reserve fuel is the BMW M3 with 51.5 km; after it, the Kia Picanto with 51.72 km and, in third place in this ranking of the cars most likely to run out of petrol before finding a petrol station, is the Fiat 500 with 59.8.

Be that as it may, we are talking about more than 50 km of range in which to find a service area… or a hotel to spend the night.