1 gallon of gas in my state is currently between $3.50 and $4. 40 miles each way is 80 miles total. The guy from the article will save money by driving his truck instead of using a VPN, but only if he goes shopping once a month, and his truck gets over 80mpg (miles per gallon). This way, he spends exactly that one gallon over the whole trip, which will conveniently make the gas expenses equal to the monthly price of a VPN (not even counting the wear and tear on the car, but that’s another story).

To demonstrate how implausible this is:

* Toyota Prius (hybrid) - 50/53mpg

* Honda Accord (entry level sedan) - 30/38mpg

* Ford F150 (small pickup truck) - 20/26mpg

And that’s only for the latest year models. If his truck is 10+ years old or larger than F150, expect mpg to be way more disastrous.

The truck would have to get 50-60 miles to the gallon to even begin to be competitive with a VPN.