How much fuel do cars really use?
Since 2021 every new car in the EU records how much fuel it burns. Carmakers report those readings to the European Environment Agency. We turned those readings, 8,913,375 cars in the latest data for each model (up to 2024), into a page for every model and engine, next to the figure on the official sticker.
Across all petrol, diesel and hybrid cars, the real average is 7.0 L/100 km against 5.9 on paper: 18% more.
Most common models
- Renault Clio4.9 → 6.0 L/100 km+23%
- Dacia Sandero5.6 → 6.7 L/100 km+20%
- Renault Captur5.5 → 6.6 L/100 km+21%
- Volkswagen Golf5.2 → 6.1 L/100 km+18%
- Ford Puma5.4 → 6.4 L/100 km+20%
- Volvo XC606.3 → 7.3 L/100 km+16%
- Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class6.7 → 7.9 L/100 km+18%
- Volkswagen Tiguan6.3 → 7.1 L/100 km+14%
- Volkswagen T-Roc5.9 → 6.7 L/100 km+14%
- Ford Kuga5.3 → 6.2 L/100 km+16%
- Volvo XC407.1 → 7.9 L/100 km+12%
- Dacia Duster5.4 → 6.3 L/100 km+17%
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class5.5 → 6.7 L/100 km+21%
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class5.7 → 6.5 L/100 km+15%
- Renault Arkana5.1 → 6.4 L/100 km+26%
- Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class6.0 → 6.9 L/100 km+15%
- Ford Focus5.1 → 6.2 L/100 km+22%
- BMW X15.5 → 6.4 L/100 km+17%
Official vs real, by powertrain
| cars | Official (WLTP) | Real world | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 3,013,564 | 6.3 | 7.4 | +18% |
| Hybrid | 2,093,460 | 5.7 | 6.8 | +20% |
| Diesel | 1,784,781 | 5.5 | 6.4 | +17% |
| Plug-in hybrid | 1,144,187 | 1.5 | 6.2 | +311% |
| Diesel hybrid | 731,532 | 6.0 | 7.2 | +20% |
| Diesel plug-in hybrid | 131,177 | 1.1 | 5.9 | +423% |
Fleet averages weighted by number of cars. Plug-in hybrids are shown separately because their official figure assumes regular charging. Hybrid includes mild hybrids (48 V) as registered by the manufacturer.
Plug-in hybrids: the biggest gap
On average, owners drive only 28% of their kilometres on electricity. That is why real consumption is several times the official figure.
All plug-in hybrids →Rankings
- Cars closest to their official consumptionEngines whose real-world consumption is nearest to the WLTP figure.
- Cars with the lowest real-world fuel consumptionEngines that use the least fuel on the road, measured by on-board meters.
- Cars furthest from their official consumptionEngines where real-world consumption exceeds the WLTP figure by the largest margin.
Browse by make
All makes →Why this site exists
The official WLTP figure is measured in a laboratory on a fixed driving cycle. It is useful for comparing cars, but it is not what you will see at the pump. Since 2021, EU law requires new cars to carry an on-board fuel consumption meter (OBFCM), and carmakers report the lifetime readings of millions of cars every year. This data is public but hard to use: it comes as multi-gigabyte files of technical codes. We group it by model and engine, show the spread between drivers, and translate it into fuel cost in your country.