Ask an expert
Can you tell me the reason for the inane description for fuel consumption now being expressed in litres per 100km (l/100km)?
What was wrong with the simple and easy calculation of kilometres per litre (km/l) or mpg of old?
Roy
From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009
MPG became outdated when odometers and speedo's started to read in kilometres although many motorists (myself included) still like to refer back to the old language (mpg).
To be honest I'm not sure why l/100km's has become the norm rather than km/l. Maybe it's from the European market.
Authorities such as the NZ Transport Agency (formerly LTNZ) have used l/100km's from day one. Once again I'm not sure why.
I must say, like anything, once you get use to l/100 it does become easy for comparison purposes.