Fuel Cost Calculator

Enter your yearly mileage and the car's fuel economy.

Yearly fuel cost
£1,758
That's £146/month and £0.15/mile — about 1,212 litres a year.

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Fuel is the cost you feel every week

Of all the costs of motoring, fuel is the one you feel most often — every forecourt visit is a small reminder of what your car really costs to run. Yet remarkably few buyers translate a car’s mpg figure into pounds per year before they buy. The DrivePedia fuel cost calculator does exactly that: pick a car and it converts its WLTP fuel economy into your yearly, monthly and weekly fuel spend at your annual mileage, using current UK pump prices.

This is the calculation that quietly decides between petrol, hybrid and electric. Britain’s pump prices are among the highest in Europe, so the gap between a 47.9 mpg hatchback and a 68 mpg hybrid is not a footnote — it is hundreds of pounds a year, every year you own the car. For high-mileage drivers it can dwarf the purchase-price difference between two rivals. Run your shortlist through the calculator before you buy, and let the forecourt maths — not the brochure — make the argument. It is a two-minute check that can easily save a four-figure sum over the life of the car.

How the Fuel Cost Calculator works

Select any car from the DrivePedia database and the calculator loads its official WLTP combined fuel economy automatically. Enter your annual mileage — 8,000 miles is the default, roughly the UK private average — and it works out how many litres of fuel that means per year, then multiplies by current typical UK pump prices for petrol or diesel. Electric cars are handled too, using a representative home-charging electricity rate instead of pump prices. The result is broken down three ways: cost per year for the big picture, per month for budgeting, and per week for the number you will actually notice. Change the mileage and every figure updates instantly, so comparing a 5,000-mile year against a 15,000-mile year takes seconds.

Worked example

Take the Toyota Yaris Hybrid 2024, with its remarkable 68 mpg combined economy. At 8,000 miles a year, the calculator puts its annual fuel bill at just £773 — about £64 a month, or under £15 a week. Now hold that against a typical 48 mpg petrol hatchback covering the same miles: roughly £1,100 a year, or £327 more annually for identical journeys. Over five years of ownership that single efficiency gap is worth more than £1,600 — real money that never appears on either car’s price sticker. This is why the Yaris’s five-year net ownership cost of £25,762 is among the lowest in the database: it sips fuel the way other cars sip, well, rather more. And because the calculator applies the same pump prices to every model, the ranking it produces is fair — no car gets a flattering fuel price.

Frequently asked questions

Which fuel prices does the calculator use?
Current typical UK pump prices for unleaded petrol and diesel, reviewed and updated periodically as the market moves. Because prices change, treat the absolute pound figure as a snapshot — but the comparison between cars stays valid, since every model is priced with the same fuel cost on the same day.
Why do my real fuel bills never match the WLTP figure?
WLTP is a laboratory test: consistent, repeatable, and deliberately optimistic compared with real driving. Short trips, cold starts, heavy traffic and a enthusiastic right foot all push consumption above the official figure. Expect real-world costs 10–20% higher — and apply the same adjustment to every car you compare, so the ranking stays fair.
Can I enter my car’s actual mpg instead?
Yes — and for a car you already own, you should. Your own brim-to-brim measured economy beats any laboratory figure. Use the WLTP-based estimate when comparing cars you have not bought yet, then switch to your measured mpg once the car is on your driveway for a true picture of your spend.
How are electric cars handled?
Instead of litres and pump prices, the calculator uses each EV’s efficiency with a representative UK home-charging electricity rate per kWh. Public rapid charging costs considerably more, so heavy public-charging users should nudge their expectations upward. Even so, most EVs land far below petrol equivalents on energy cost alone.
Does driving style really change the result?
Enormously — it is the biggest variable after mileage itself. Gentle acceleration, steady motorway speeds and anticipating traffic can improve real economy by 15% or more versus hurried driving, whatever the car. The calculator gives you the car’s potential; your right foot decides how much of it you actually bank.