After the recent surges in the price of oil, have you stopped to conisder just how much extra you’re paying when you fill your car up?
Having reluctantly got rid of my trusty old Ford Focus, after eight years and 110,000 miles of happy motoring, I was looking back at the fuel figures I’ve built up over that time. With a bit of spreadsheet trickery it became apparent just how much the price of fuel has soared since I first bought the Focus in 2000.
I know, it’s hardly a surprise that fuel is more expensive after the recent surge in oil prices, but usually I just hand my credit card over and pay little heed to the overall price. After all, with most of my mileage being my daily commute to work and back I’ve got little choice but to fill up and pay!
Take a look at the figures I’ve built up over the last eight years.
| Year | Mileage | Fuel Litres |
Fuel Cost £ |
MPG | Pence Per Litre |
Pence Per Mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10,676 | 1,219 | 986.87 | 39.81 | 80.96 | 9.24 |
| 2001 | 15,940 | 1796 | 1340.89 | 40.34 | 74.65 | 8.41 |
| 2002 | 15,206 | 1709.48 | 1261.90 | 40.44 | 73.82 | 8.30 |
| 2003 | 14028 | 1533.32 | 1198.38 | 41.59 | 78.16 | 8.54 |
| 2004 | 12558 | 1338.56 | 1077.49 | 42.65 | 80.50 | 8.58 |
| 2005 | 8693 | 1000.12 | 862.55 | 39.51 | 86.24 | 9.92 |
| 2006 | 11249 | 1197.39 | 1099.35 | 42.71 | 91.81 | 9.77 |
| 2007 | 12941 | 1398.34 | 1349.8 | 42.07 | 96.53 | 10.43 |
| 2008 | 8928 | 958.71 | 1077.94 | 42.33 | 112.44 | 12.07 |
Looking at the figures, you can see how the real-life cost has gone up rapidly since 2006. From under 10p per mile it now costs over 12p per mile, almost a 25% increase in just two years. Now don’t forget this is in a car that’s averaging over 40mpg, there are many cars out there doing far fewer mpg and using a hell of a lot more of that expensive fuel!
Here’s some pretty graphs to illustrate the point:
Another thing you can see from the MPG figures is the effect of ‘running in’ the car and how, over time, the mpg rate increases. The only exception is 2005, but that year the car was used for shorter runs than it would normally (my daily commute is 60 miles).
OK, the figures don’t really prove anything that drivers wouldn’t already suspect, but at least you can see just how much extra you’re potentially paying per mile. Depressing, isn’t it?
Image Source: Adam Tinworth