What is the Fuel Consumption Calculator?
This calculator tells you how much fuel your vehicle burns over a given distance. Enter the litres of fuel used and the kilometres driven, and it returns your consumption in litres per 100 km (L/100km) — the standard metric in most of the world — plus fuel economy in km per litre and miles per gallon (UK).
How to use it
Fill up your tank, reset your trip meter, and drive normally. At your next fill-up, note how many litres it took to refill and how many kilometres the trip meter shows. Enter both numbers and read your real-world fuel consumption.
The formula explained
The core equation is simple: consumption = fuel used ÷ distance. To express it as L/100km we multiply by 100, since this figure represents the fuel needed to travel 100 kilometres. A lower L/100km value means a more efficient, cheaper-to-run vehicle.
$$\text{L/100km} = \frac{\text{Fuel (L)}}{\text{Distance (km)}} \times 100$$
Worked example
Suppose you used 45 litres of fuel to drive 500 km. Consumption = $$45 \div 500 \times 100 = 9 \text{ L/100km}$$ Your economy is \(500 \div 45 \approx 11.11\) km/L, which converts to roughly 31.4 miles per gallon (UK).
FAQ
Is lower or higher L/100km better? Lower is better — it means you use less fuel to cover the same distance.
How is this different from MPG? MPG measures distance per unit of fuel (higher is better), while L/100km measures fuel per unit of distance (lower is better). They are inverse measures.
UK or US gallons? The MPG shown here uses the UK (imperial) gallon of 4.54609 litres. US gallons are smaller (3.78541 litres), giving a lower MPG figure.
