MPG - A must-have iPhone App

I don't talk about iPhone apps much, but today I realized how much I love one particular app: MPG.

I started using MPG in June or so. Well, let me qualify that: I started using MPG for the iPhone in June or so. Previously, I had this program for my Newton. Yes, it's been around that long. The developer has a 14 year head start on everyone else building apps like this for the iPhone, and it shows. The developer also does a really good job of supporting his software, and that has continued into the iPhone era.

MPG tracks mileage, maintenance & trips. Sounds mundane, but it's not. It's awesome. Not only do I know what kind of mileage I am getting on all of my cars, I can tell you that we fill the van up every 3.5 days, and we spend an average of $13.21 per day driving that car. On top of that, we average 79.1 miles per day on it. Whoa! Our average fuel cost? $3.097 per gallon. Average MPG? 19.3 (ouch!). Longest distance between fill-ups? 484 miles.

But it isn't just about stats. I use MPG to keep track of business miles. The result? I don't forget them. Not forgetting them means that I can turn them in for reimbursement. That's paid for this software many times over.

But it isn't just about reimbursement. It also keeps track of maintenance, maintenance costs etc. So when it's time to change my oil? MPG tells me. Time to rotate the tires? MPG tells me that too. Then it uses those figures to calculate the cost per day of the vehicle.

I love this app, and if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, it's totally worth the $4 or so to pick it up. Get it.

Joel

Update: Unfortunately the author of this app passed away in 2013. As of February 2014 MPG has still not been updated for ios7, and it's time for me to move on.