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Fuel Consumption Converter

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A car's fuel use is given two opposite ways. Most of the world counts fuel per distance, in liters per 100 km (L/100 km), where lower is better. The US and the UK count distance per fuel, in miles per gallon (mpg), where higher is better, and with different gallons: the US gallon is 3.785 L and the UK gallon 4.546 L.

Because one is the inverse of the other, they don't convert by a single factor: L/100 km = 235.215 / mpg (US), and the same formula converts mpg back.

Fuel economy chart

L/100 km mpg (US) mpg (UK) km/L
4 58.8 70.6 25
5 47 56.5 20
6 39.2 47.1 16.7
7 33.6 40.4 14.3
8 29.4 35.3 12.5
10 23.5 28.2 10
12 19.6 23.5 8.33
15 15.7 18.8 6.67

A car that does 30 mpg in the US does 36 mpg in UK gallons, since a UK gallon is larger.

Fuel consumption units

Liters / 100km

Liters per 100 kilometers (l/100km) is a commonly used way of expressing fuel consumption. It represents the volume of fuel, in liters, consumed by a vehicle to travel a distance of 100 kilometers.

To convert other units to Liters / 100km, use the following conversion factors:

  • [l/100km] = 100 / [km/l]
  • [l/100km] = 100 / [mi/l] / 1.609344
  • [l/100km] = 235.215 / [mpg (US)]
  • [l/100km] = 282.481 / [mpg (UK)]

Kilometers / Liter

Kilometers per liter (km/l) measures the distance a vehicle can travel in kilometers on one liter of fuel.

To convert other units to Kilometers / Liters, use the following conversion factors:

  • [km/l] = 100 / [l/100km]
  • [km/l] = [mi/l] / 0.621371
  • [km/l] = [mpg (US)] / 2.35215
  • [km/l] = [mpg (UK)] / 2.82481

Miles / Liter

Miles per liter (mi/l) represents the distance traveled in miles using one liter of fuel.

To convert other units to Miles / Liter, use the following conversion factors:

  • [mi/l] = 62.1371 / [l/100km]
  • [mi/l] = [km/l] * 0.621371
  • [mi/l] = [mpg (US)] / 3.78541
  • [mi/l] = [mpg (UK)] / 4.54609

Miles / Gallon

Miles per gallon (mpg) indicates the distance a vehicle can travel in miles using one gallon of fuel (US gallon is equal to 3.78541 liters, while the UK gallon is 4.54609 liters).

To convert other units to Miles per Gallon (US), use the following conversion factors:

  • [mpg (US)] = 235.215 / [l/100km]
  • [mpg (US)] = [km/l] / 0.425144
  • [mpg (US)] = [mi/l] / 0.264172
  • [mpg (US)] = [mpg (UK)] / 1.20095

To convert other units to Miles per Gallon (UK), use the following conversion factors:

  • [mpg (UK)] = 282.481 / [l/100km]
  • [mpg (UK)] = [km/l] / 0.354006
  • [mpg (UK)] = [mi/l] / 0.219969
  • [mpg (UK)] = [mpg (US)] * 1.20095

Frequently asked questions

Is lower or higher better?

For L/100 km, lower is better: it is the fuel used. For mpg and km/L, higher is better: it is the distance covered.

How much fuel will a trip use?

Multiply the distance by the consumption: 450 km at 6.5 L/100 km uses 450 * 6.5 / 100 = 29.25 liters. In mpg, divide the miles by the mpg: 300 miles at 30 mpg is 10 gallons.