Fuel Cost Calculator

Your dashboard's long-term trip average beats the window sticker — real-world economy runs 10–20% below EPA figures with speeds over 70 mph, AC, roof cargo, or a loaded car. If you only have the sticker number, use the combined figure and mentally pad the result. Highway-heavy trips can use the highway figure; mixed driving shouldn't.

It inverts: MPG measures distance per fuel (higher is better), while L/100km measures fuel per distance (lower is better). The conversion is 235.2 ÷ either number to get the other — 30 MPG ≈ 7.8 L/100km. The calculator handles each convention natively so no conversion is needed.

The common convention: passengers split fuel (the per-person figure here), and many groups add a share toward wear — the driver is contributing a car, not just gas. Splitting fuel-only among all riders including the driver is the baseline; anything more generous to the driver is a judgment call the group makes.

It's the visible fraction. The IRS standard mileage rate (roughly $0.70/mile) approximates the true per-mile cost including depreciation, tires, insurance, and maintenance — typically 3–4× fuel alone. For 'drive vs fly' decisions, fuel cost is the fair marginal comparison; for 'what does my commute really cost', the full figure is more honest.