Next year the feature will come to Europe
As any couch potato will attest; the fastest route is not always the most efficient. If you have to be on the other side of a mountain, you can go over it in a straight line, but you’ll arrive exhausted. Then it is better to zigzag. The same goes for cars. The chosen route will affect the amount of fuel or electricity you use. Google Maps will therefore also indicate the most economical route in addition to the fastest route.
The update is now available in America and coming to Europe next year. If the fastest route differs from the most efficient route, Maps will give you a choice. The app then shows the difference in arrival time and the difference in consumption on that route. The user can then choose which route it will be. With rising fuel prices and the growing share of EVs, it’s a welcome update.
Optimizing a route is not necessarily something new. For example, almost all modern navigation services take traffic on the road into account. UPS delivery drivers mostly take right turns. The navigation systems of many plug-in hybrids indicate to the powertrain when to use electricity and when not to, for example, to have a little kWh left over for the last piece of the center.
