Fuel & Efficiency

Fuel cost calculators help drivers understand how much they really spend on gasoline and identify savings opportunities. With gas prices volatile and the average American driving 15,000 miles per year, a 5 MPG improvement on a 25 MPG car saves roughly $400 per year at $3.50/gallon.

MPG (miles per gallon) is calculated from odometer readings and fill-up volumes. Cost per mile = fuel cost / MPG. At $3.50/gallon, a 30 MPG car costs 11.7 cents per mile in fuel; a 15 MPG truck costs 23.3 cents per mile. Multiply by annual mileage to get real annual fuel spend.

Trip fuel cost requires distance, estimated MPG, and current gas price. For metric users, L/100km conversions are essential - MPG and L/100km are inversely related: L/100km = 235.2 / MPG. E85 ethanol contains about 27% less energy per gallon than gasoline, so a flex-fuel vehicle will see roughly 20-25% worse fuel economy on E85 even when the price per gallon is lower.