What does your daily drive really cost in fuel?

Three numbers are enough for the fuel estimate

You need total kilometres, consumption in litres per 100 kilometres and euros per litre. Divide distance by 100, multiply by consumption, then multiply by the fuel price.

If your workplace is 12 kilometres away, a simple return journey is 24 kilometres. Add any regular school drop-off or other detour before multiplying by workdays. Do not enter 12 kilometres and assume the calculator knows to double it unless the field explicitly asks for a one-way journey.

A five-day commute, worked through

This illustration uses 24 kilometres a day, five days a week and consumption of 7 litres per 100 kilometres. The €1.34 per litre petrol reference comes from Malta data for 26 October 2026 in the European Commission bulletin published on 29 October. It is a dated reference, not a live pump quote.

Sources: European Commission: Weekly Oil Bulletin.

Use your own consumption where possible

A manufacturer’s combined figure may not describe your daily route. A practical alternative is to track kilometres and litres added over several comparable fills, then divide litres by kilometres and multiply by 100.

Use enough journeys to smooth out a single unusual week. If you are unsure, run a lower and a higher consumption estimate and keep both results. That is more useful than presenting one precise answer from an uncertain input.

Fuel is one part of owning a car

Keep insurance, road licence, servicing, tyres, parking and finance repayments separate. Add the monthly share of annual bills to your household budget. Depreciation can also matter in a full ownership comparison, even though it is not a monthly cash payment.

When comparing a car with a bus, decide which question you are answering. The extra fuel saved by taking the bus tomorrow is different from the long-term saving from no longer keeping a car. The fuel calculator answers the first part of that comparison.

For trips to Gozo, add the appropriate return ferry fare once. Fuel used getting to the ports belongs in the driving distance rather than in the ferry fare.