Trip Fuel Cost
What a journey costs in fuel, from the distance and the price per unit.
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Formula
How the calculation works
The trip cost is distance divided by 100, times consumption per 100, times the price per unit. For 300 units at 8 per 100 and 1.50 a unit, that is 3 times 8 times 1.50, or 24 units of fuel costing 36. The divide-and-multiply is not decoration: consumption is quoted per 100 units, so a 300-unit trip uses three times the stated figure, not 8.
The cost is exactly proportional to distance, which is what makes it useful for a decision. Doubling 300 to 600 doubles 36 to 72, and the same trip in a car using 5.88 per 100 costs 26.46 instead of 35.28 at 7.06, so the saving is real and scales with every extra mile. The tool also reports cost per unit distance, 0.12 in the example, which is the number to compare between routes.
The model is fuel only, and it ignores the parts that are not linear: tolls are fixed whatever the distance, tyres and servicing are per interval, and city driving uses more than motorway driving at the same quoted figure. It also assumes the price per unit is constant, so it cannot model a top-up in a cheaper region. Treat the output as the fuel line, not the whole journey.
Common mistakes
- Multiplying the distance by consumption without dividing by 100. That turns a 36 trip into 3,600, the classic hundredfold error with per-100 figures.
- Quoting the round trip but entering the one-way distance. The page example is one way, so a return needs 600 units, not 300, and the cost doubles.
- Reading the fuel figure as the whole cost of the journey. Tolls, parking and wear are outside the model, so a 36 fuel line can easily sit inside a 70 day out.
When to use it
- Use it to compare two cars, two routes or two fuel prices on the same journey, and to price a share of a lift before you agree to it.
- It is not a travel budget. For the whole trip, food, lodging and tolls, use the trip cost planner that takes those lines; this one answers only what the tank costs.
Worked example
300 units at 8 per 100 and a price of 1.50 costs 36.
Common questions
Is this one way only?
One way. Double the distance for a return journey.
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