Liters per 100 km Calculator
Liters per 100 km Calculator
Calculate your vehicle's fuel consumption from the distance traveled and fuel used, then see the equivalent km/L and MPG values.
How much fuel does your car actually use?
The liters per 100 km calculator gives you a simple way to work it out. Enter the distance you traveled and the amount of fuel used, and the calculator shows your fuel consumption in liters per 100 kilometers (L/100km).
This is one of the most useful ways to compare vehicle fuel consumption because it answers a practical question: how many liters of fuel does the vehicle need to travel 100 km?
For example, if a car uses 40 liters to travel 600 km:
40 ÷ 600 × 100 = 6.67 L/100km
That means the car uses approximately 6.67 liters of fuel for every 100 km.
What does L/100km mean?
L/100km stands for liters per 100 kilometers. It measures fuel consumption rather than distance traveled per unit of fuel.
This distinction is important.
With L/100km:
- Lower numbers mean less fuel consumption
- Higher numbers mean more fuel consumption
So a vehicle using 5 L/100km consumes less fuel than one using 8 L/100km.
Unlike MPG, where a higher number generally represents better fuel economy, L/100km works in the opposite direction.
How to calculate liters per 100 km
If you know how many liters of fuel were used and how many kilometers were driven, the calculation is straightforward:
L/100km = (Liters used ÷ Kilometers driven) × 100
Example
Suppose you drive 750 km and use 52 liters of fuel.
First divide the fuel used by the distance:
52 ÷ 750 = 0.06933
Then multiply by 100:
0.06933 × 100 = 6.93
Your fuel consumption is therefore:
6.93 L/100km
The calculator performs this calculation automatically, so you don’t need to work through the formula every time.
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Why use liters per 100 km?
Fuel economy figures can be confusing when vehicles come from different countries.
One car might be advertised at 6.5 L/100km, another at 15 km/L, while a vehicle from the United States might be listed at 36 MPG.
These figures can describe essentially the same underlying idea, but the measurement systems are different.
L/100km is particularly convenient when estimating:
- Fuel required for a road trip
- Vehicle running costs
- Fuel consumption over a known distance
- Differences between two vehicles
- City versus highway consumption
- Fuel used over a month or year
- Consumption of imported vehicles
Because L/100km measures fuel consumed over a fixed distance, it also makes it easy to estimate how much fuel a particular journey will require.
L/100km conversion formulas
From kilometers per liter to L/100km
If your vehicle’s economy is given in kilometers per liter:
L/100km = 100 ÷ km/L
For example:
100 ÷ 20 = 5 L/100km
So 20 km/L = 5 L/100km.
This is a reciprocal relationship, which is why simply multiplying km/L by a constant would give the wrong result.
From US MPG to L/100km
For US miles per gallon:
L/100km = 235.215 ÷ US MPG
For example, a vehicle rated at 30 US MPG:
235.215 ÷ 30 = 7.84 L/100km
From UK MPG to L/100km
UK or Imperial MPG uses a different gallon:
L/100km = 282.481 ÷ UK MPG
The US and Imperial gallons are different sizes, so 30 US MPG and 30 UK MPG do not represent the same fuel consumption.
L/100km conversion table
| Fuel economy | Approx. L/100km |
|---|---|
| 30 km/L | 3.33 |
| 25 km/L | 4.00 |
| 20 km/L | 5.00 |
| 16.67 km/L | 6.00 |
| 15 km/L | 6.67 |
| 12.5 km/L | 8.00 |
| 10 km/L | 10.00 |
| 8.33 km/L | 12.00 |
| 6.67 km/L | 15.00 |
| 5 km/L | 20.00 |
The key thing to remember is that km/L and L/100km move in opposite directions. A higher km/L figure corresponds to a lower L/100km figure.
How to find your car's real fuel consumption
The number printed in a vehicle specification is useful, but your actual consumption can be different depending on how and where you drive.
A simple way to measure real-world fuel consumption is:
- Fill the fuel tank completely.
- Record the odometer or reset the trip meter.
- Drive normally.
- Fill the tank again.
- Record how many liters were added.
- Record the distance traveled.
- Use the liters-per-100-km formula.
For example, if you drove 480 km and the second fill-up required 34 liters:
34 ÷ 480 × 100 = 7.08 L/100km
Your measured consumption would be approximately 7.1 L/100km.
For a more representative figure, repeating the measurement over several fill-ups can reduce the effect of small differences in how full the tank was.
Why your actual L/100km can change
Fuel consumption isn’t a fixed number. The same vehicle can produce noticeably different results depending on driving conditions.
Common factors include:
City driving
Frequent stops, acceleration and idling can increase fuel consumption compared with steady-speed driving.
Highway speed
Driving at higher speeds can increase fuel use because aerodynamic resistance becomes increasingly important.
Traffic
Stop-and-go traffic can make a vehicle consume considerably more fuel than a steady journey.
Vehicle load
Passengers, luggage and heavy equipment add weight that the engine has to move.
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure can affect rolling resistance and fuel consumption.
Weather and temperature
Cold conditions, strong winds, rain and other environmental factors can influence real-world fuel use.
Driving style
Hard acceleration, heavy braking and maintaining unnecessarily high speeds can all change the amount of fuel consumed.
Because of these variables, a single trip should not necessarily be treated as the definitive fuel economy of a vehicle.
What is considered good L/100km?
There isn’t one universal number that qualifies as “good” fuel consumption.
A small compact car, large SUV, pickup truck and hybrid vehicle have very different purposes and physical characteristics. Comparing their L/100km figures without considering vehicle type can therefore be misleading.
As a general principle, a lower L/100km figure means less fuel is required to cover the same distance.
For example:
- 5 L/100km → 5 liters per 100 km
- 7 L/100km → 7 liters per 100 km
- 10 L/100km → 10 liters per 100 km
- 12 L/100km → 12 liters per 100 km
The difference becomes especially meaningful over long distances.