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Fuel cost calculator

What a trip costs in fuel, from distance, consumption and the pump price

Your trip

The currency is whatever you enter. Tolls, parking and wear are not included.

Distance ÷ economy × price

Four hundred kilometres in a car doing 12 km/L needs 33.3 litres; multiply by the price per litre and you have the cost. For a return journey either double the distance or turn on the return option — the two are the same thing.

Use your measured economy, not the brochure

Official figures come from a standardised test and read better than real driving. If you have measured your own consumption over a few tanks, that number will give a cost far closer to what you actually spend.

Fuel is not the whole cost of driving

Tolls, parking and the wear you are quietly spending on tyres and servicing all sit outside this. For comparing a drive against a train fare, the fuel figure alone understates the car.

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Frequently asked questions

Q. Which currency does this use?

Whichever you type in. The price you enter per litre sets the unit, and the answer comes back in the same one — nothing is assumed about where you are.

Q. Why does the cost change so much with speed?

Air resistance grows with the square of speed, so the power needed to push through it grows with the cube. Motorway cruising at 120 km/h can use a quarter more fuel than at 100.

Q. Does air conditioning matter?

A few per cent in normal use, more in stop-start traffic. Open windows at speed cost about as much through drag, so the choice between them matters less than it is often made to seem.