What Is Good Fuel Economy? L/100 km Explained

If you have ever looked at a fuel rating and wondered whether it was good, you are not alone. The number only makes sense next to similar vehicles. This guide gives you the benchmarks.

How to read L/100 km

L/100 km is how many litres of fuel a vehicle burns to go 100 kilometres. A car rated 6.0 L/100 km uses 6 litres every 100 km. A truck rated 12.0 uses twice as much.

It works the opposite way to miles per gallon, which is where a lot of confusion comes from. If you see an American rating in MPG, you can convert it: 235 ÷ MPG ≈ L/100 km. So 40 MPG is about 5.9 L/100 km.

City, highway, and combined

Ratings come in three numbers:

• City: stop-and-go driving. Hybrids do especially well here.
• Highway: steady cruising. Most gas cars are most efficient here.
• Combined: a weighted mix of the two. Use this one to compare vehicles.

These ratings come from Natural Resources Canada testing and appear on the EnerGuide label on new vehicles.

What counts as good? Rough benchmarks

These are approximate combined ratings for recent models. Use them as a guide, not a rule.

What a difference of 1 L/100 km is worth

At 20,000 km a year and $1.75 a litre, every 1.0 L/100 km improvement saves about $350 a year. Over five years that is around $1,750. That is why a small-looking difference on the label adds up.

Try it with real vehicles in our fuel cost calculator.

Why your real number will be different

• Winter. Cold engines, winter fuel blends, and running the heater can raise consumption noticeably.
• Driving style. Hard acceleration and high highway speeds use more fuel.
• Short trips. An engine that never warms up is inefficient.
• Tires and load. Under-inflated tires, roof racks, and heavy cargo all add up.

The bottom line

Compare the combined rating against vehicles of the same type, and turn the difference into dollars using how much you actually drive. That tells you far more than whether a number sounds low.