I have a 2012 Focus Hatchback with an automatic transmission. I am curious about coasting and have seen conflicting information from seemingly credible sources. I am not much of a car person so really dont know what to believe. My gut feeling is that misinformation (that it does NOT save gas) is being spread because of safety concerns. So could someone please advise me on my situation and let me know if I am in fact saving gas.

First of all, lets drop the safety issue. I live in a rural area and there are 4 stops that I currently coast to. It is rare that there is a vehicle within 1/2 mile of me in either direction. I am curious whether I save gas by shifting to neutral and coasting to the stops about 3/4-1 mile away. Or if it would save more gas by simply coasting in drive (because gas usage supposedly drops to zero when not accelerating - not sure I understand that.). Keep in mind, these are not inclines, just coasting to a stop sign, so intending to come to a stop or at least a near stop.

I intend to do real gas measurement and compare to the digital read (as I know the computer is not sensing actual gas mileage). But from what my dash computer says I was averaging 34 mpg with normal driving and am at 39 mpg shifting to neutral and coasting to those stops.