Fuel for thought

Petrol Pump Fuel for thoughts gasoline carPetrol Pump. Photo: Pixabay

Fuel for thought

Warranty Direct has used the latest data from GlobalPetrolPrices to compare different global fuel costs and calculate how far you would travel on a series of iconic car journeys around the world on €22.70 (£20) worth of petrol. The results truly give fuel for thought.

 

As announced earlier in July, these are the top five most expensive and cheapest petrol rates around the world:

Bottom 5 least expensive countries Cost Per Litre ($) Top 5 most expensive countries Cost Per Litre ($)
Venezuela 0.01 Hong Kong 2.20
Iran 0.29 Norway 2.08
Sudan 0.34 Iceland 1.98
Kuwait 0.35 Netherlands 1.95
Algeria 0.35 Greece 1.94

European countries make four appearances on the list of top five most expensive countries, with high tax levies being one of the main causes of this overrepresentation. Norway takes second overall position behind Hong Kong but secures first place across Europe, with petrol costs of $2.08 per litre.

This means that native drivers wishing to take on one of the country’s most famed driving routes (from Trondheim to Sandefjord) would only make it 39% of the way on a €22.70 tank of fuel.

Top 5 most expensive European countries

Ranking Country Cost per litre ($)
1 Norway 2.08
2 Iceland 1.98
3 Netherlands 1.95
4 Greece 1.94
5 Denmark 1.92

Though the United Kingdom appears further down the list of most expensive countries, with petrol costs of $1.71, that’s only a $0.37 difference from highest-ranking Norway.

That means UK drivers taking the route from Trondheim to Sandefjord would still only be able to complete less than half the journey on €22.70 worth of fuel (48%).

As a further comparison, €22.70 would only enable Norwegian motorists to complete a paltry 13% of the UK-equivalent famed route, the 874-mile journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Iceland comes in at number three overall on the list but is second highest among high-ranking, most expensive European countries.

The United States’ results are particularly interesting, as, despite more economically advanced countries tending to have higher fuel prices, it appears to be the exception to the rule with fuel costing $0.85 per litre. This is partly down to fuel prices being kept down artificially by low gas taxes.

In stark contrast, Iceland’s costly fuel charges mean native drivers shell out over 133% extra than their US counterparts at $1.98 per litre.

To put that into perspective, US drivers journeying across Iceland’s 828-mile Route 1 (which features some of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland including the Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls) could travel almost two-fifths of the way there on US gas prices (35%).

A native Icelandic driver making this same journey would travel a meagre 15% of this 828-mile trek on €22.70 worth of fuel. That’s a mere 124 miles. Icelanders looking to make the complete voyage would have to shell out around €155 to complete the total trip.

Motorists in the States could get an even better deal travelling from Trondheim to Sandefjord on US fuel rates, completing an impressive 96% of the total 298-mile journey.

Comparatively, Icelandic drivers making the same journey would struggle to cover even half of this distance with the same amount of petrol.

At the other end of the spectrum, with petrol costs of just $0.01 per litre, Venezuelan drivers could make the same trip through Norway an astonishing 81 times on just €22.70 worth of petrol!

Venezuela keeps fuel prices drastically low due to government regulation, meaning prices haven’t changed since 1997.

These low fuel prices could see you complete Route 1 on just €0.76 and the longest drivable distance on Earth (from Sagres, Portugal to Khasan, Russia) on just €8.10 worth of fuel.

Warranty Direct also completed an analysis of several other well-known routes including; the Karakoram Highway, Argentina’s Ruta 40 and travelling to the Moon.

Simon Ackers, CEO of Warranty Direct commented on the findings:

“The results of our latest data analysis are really interesting and the driving routes help to visualise the size of the gap in fuel prices across the world. Although most people wouldn’t drive these journeys in one go, they go to show how much the price gap can add up”.

 

© Warranty Direct / #Norway Today