Fuel consumption conversion chart
Litres per Swedish mil (10 km) and litres per 100 km - move the decimal point one step to switch. A modern car uses roughly 0.5 l/mil. Edit, print and share.
The fuel consumption conversion chart links the two common measures: l/mil (the Nordic standard, per Swedish mil – exactly 10 km) and l/100 km (the standard across the rest of Europe). The relationship is simple – move the decimal point one step (×10). Made for the classroom and home.
| 1 l/mil | = | 10 l/100 km |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 l/mil | = | 5 l/100 km |
| 0.8 l/mil | = | 8 l/100 km |
| 0.45 l/mil | = | 4.5 l/100 km |
| 1 l/100 km | = | 0.1 l/mil |
| 6 l/100 km | = | 0.6 l/mil |
How the table works
Every row is a unit conversion: a quantity and unit on the left, the same quantity expressed in another unit on the right. The table is live – drag the handle to reorder, click a row to change the quantity or units, remove rows with the cross and add your own at the bottom.
Everything you change lands in the page address. Copy the link and others open exactly your table – handy when the whole class needs the same sheet. Your changes are also kept in your browser until you reset them, but only there: to share or keep them permanently, the link is what counts.
Print puts the table on a single portrait A4 and Download PDF gives you the same sheet as a file. Print practice sheet gives the table with empty answer cells and name/date lines – the normal printout is the answer key.
Move the decimal point one step
l/mil (litres per Swedish mil – exactly 10 km, the Nordic standard) and l/100 km (the standard across the rest of Europe) measure the same thing: how much fuel a car uses. The relationship is exactly ×10 – move the decimal point one step right to go from l/mil to l/100 km, one step left to go back.
Good to know: the mil is a Swedish unit, exactly 10 km – not the same as an English mile. Dividing an l/100 km figure by 10 gives l/mil directly.
Roughly how much fuel?
- A modern car uses roughly 0.5 l/mil (5 l/100 km).
- An older car uses roughly 1 l/mil.
- A hybrid uses roughly 0.2 l/mil.
mpg – the US and UK fuel unit
Miles per gallon (mpg) measures distance per fuel – the opposite of l/100 km, which measures fuel per distance. The relationship is therefore not a multiplication but a division: double the mpg figure and l/100 km halves, it does not double. That cannot be written as a row in the table above, but the formula card below gives the relationships and printable examples.
Formulas
- Litres per 100 km from mpg (US)l/100 km = 235.21 / mpg (US)
- mpg (US) from litres per 100 kmmpg (US) = 235.21 / (l/100 km)
- Litres per 100 km from mpg (UK)l/100 km = 282.48 / mpg (UK)
| mpg (US) | l/100 km |
|---|---|
| 20 | 11.8 |
| 30 | 7.8 |
| 40 | 5.9 |
| 50 | 4.7 |
Miles per gallon is reciprocal, not a ratio: double the mpg figure and fuel use per 100 km halves, it does not double. That is why mpg cannot be a row in the table above - only in a formula.
Download PDFFrequently asked questions
How do I convert l/mil to l/100 km?
Multiply by 10. Move the decimal point one step right.
What is 0.6 l/mil in l/100 km?
6 l/100 km.
Why isn’t mpg in the table?
Miles per gallon runs the other way – distance per fuel, not fuel per distance – and the relationship is reciprocal, not a fixed factor, so it cannot stand as a simple exact row in this table. The US and UK also use different gallons. The formula card above gives the conversion with formulas and examples instead.
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