Travel & Vehicles
Journey Cost Calculator
Planning a road trip or carpooling? Calculate your exact fuel cost in seconds, figure out how many litres you need, and split the bill fairly between passengers.
Trip Details
miles
MPG
UK avg is ~40-50 MPG
£per litre
Estimated Total Fuel Cost£43.95
Total Distance300 mi
Litres Needed30.3 L
Gallons Needed6.7 gal
Cost Per Mile£0.15
How to Calculate Your Trip Costs
Whether you're heading off on a staycation from London to Cornwall, or just trying to calculate the actual cost of your daily commute, figuring out fuel prices can feel like solving a puzzle thanks to the UK's mix of metric and imperial measurements.
The Math Explained
To calculate your journey cost manually, you need to navigate the fact that your car's efficiency is measured in Miles Per Gallon (MPG), but fuel is sold in Litres.
- 1. Divide your total miles by your MPG to get Total Gallons needed.
- 2. Multiply the Total Gallons by 4.546 (the number of litres in a UK gallon) to find total Litres.
- 3. Finally, multiply the Litres by the price of fuel per litre.
Tips for Improving Fuel Economy on Long Trips
If you want to reduce how much you spend at the pump during your trip, follow these simple guidelines:
- Check your tyre pressure: Under-inflated tyres increase rolling resistance. Simply pumping your tyres to the correct pressure can improve MPG by up to 3%.
- Remove roof boxes and racks: Aerodynamic drag is the biggest enemy of fuel efficiency at motorway speeds. An empty roof box will dramatically reduce your MPG. Take it off if you don't absolutely need it.
- Drive smoothly: Anticipate traffic flow to avoid heavy braking and harsh acceleration. Maintaining a steady pace is far more efficient than constantly accelerating and decelerating.
- Use Air Con wisely: At low speeds (around town), open windows instead of using A/C. But at motorway speeds, open windows create too much drag, making the A/C the more efficient choice.