You fill the tank, you know you can run for 500 kilometers. You know that your destination is 200km away. You can go and return on one tank. Also, the trips took much longer than today so people would stop to eat and relax at some point,and then you could also check the fuel.
The main difference is that you knew what the range of the car is on one tank and the distance between cities. So you were more present and definitely not bored.
Then one day, there's a 50kmh headwind on your way home...
(Assuming a perfectly spherical cow of uniform density, if you drop the assumed 100kmh cruising speed down to 75kmh, giving an airspeed of 125kmh and a trip time of 2hr 40m at your ground speed of 75kmh, you'll run out of fuel precisely between the two most inconveniently placed gas stations at the bottom of a hill in both directions...)
Then what you would do, you would wait on the side of the road with the hood up and wait for somebody to stop and ask for gas. All drivers had empty recipients and a hose to pull gas out. You would make new friends. Drivers were much more understanding and helpful in those times. I don't say it was easy. I was just the way it was.
The main difference is that you knew what the range of the car is on one tank and the distance between cities. So you were more present and definitely not bored.