# Is there another term to use than "mileage" when discussing kilometers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295 "2017-03-29T16:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/61 "2017-04-03T00:20:02Z")
re. the OP Klickage! ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/62 "2017-04-03T01:11:03Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > Is there a metric equivalent for ‘acreage’ for land areas? It’s probably obvious, but I’m at work, so temporarily lobotomized. Well, “mileage” is distance measured in miles, and “acreage” is area measured in acres. So, given that the metric unit of area is the are, then something measured in ares would be . . . um, an “area”. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/63 "2017-04-03T01:35:46Z")
Hectareage? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/64 "2017-04-03T02:02:30Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I haven’t seen “km/100L” but I have seen “L/100km” - ie, how much fuel will the car use to drive 100km? > > Given how much driving Aussies do, that’s actually useful info - as has been noted. 🙂 Damn. I totally messed that up. Everywhere I wrote km/100 Litre, it is really L/100km. Sorry. Less unique without the stupid errors…, ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/65 "2017-04-03T09:43:57Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Well, “mileage” is distance measured in miles, and “acreage” is area measured in acres. So, given that the metric unit of area is the are, then something measured in ares would be . . . um, an “area”. Whether you actually measure it in ares or not. Multiple languages happen to use the same word for “area” and for “are”, anyway: that’s how the unit of measure came by its name. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/66 "2017-04-03T10:53:12Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > Is there a metric equivalent for ‘acreage’ for land areas? It’s probably obvious, but I’m at work, so temporarily lobotomized. The basic issue seems to be how different culture/education systems teach handling physical _quantities_ and/vs. _units_. In one of the first lessons when we first had physics, as a separate subject, in German _Gymnasium_ (IIRRC it was in 5th form), the teacher rammed home the following concept: **Never talk about “how many kilograms, how many meters, how many litres” etc. Talk about the physical quantities - mass, length, volume, instead. The names of the quantities don’t have the units in them for a reason - you can measure them in different units but the quantity stays the same. Quantities and units are different things and should be kept separate.** This is why e.g. in German voltage is _elektrische Spannung_ - no volts in that amperage is _Stromstärke_ - no amperes in that acreage is _Fläche_ - no unit in that either. mileage [fuel consumption] is _Kraftstoffverbrauch_ mileage [odometer indication] is _Tachometerstand_ or _Fahrleistung_ I wonder if this system is actually more widespread in other languages (it seems to be in French), and the concept of incorporating an unit into the quantity name is actually an exception internationally. For example voltage = _tension électrique, tensión eléctrica, elektrische Spannung, tensione elettrica, elektrisk spænding, электри́ческое напряже́ние, elektrische spanning, gerilim_ etc. - no volts in sight except in English. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/67 "2017-04-03T13:17:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Gallons per 100 miles (volume per distance generally) is the more directly relevant and hence smarter measure if your approach to driving is to drive however far per year you need to and purchase however much fuel that happens to need. This is theoretically… well, arguably true, I guess, but do people think this way? Does anyone look at MPG and think “well, thank God, I buy 500 gallonbs of gas a year and now I can drive further?” MY guess is basically no one thinks that at all, ever. For that matter, living in Canada, do you think I looked at the l/100km number and thought about how many litres of gas I’d have to buy? Of course not; to be honest, I am not exactly sure how far my drive to work is or how much I drive in terms of errands and such. What matters is how the number compares to other cars. If it’s MPG, I know that a car that has the number “40” is better than one with the number “35.” The former car will be cheaper to drive. (I am ignoring the highway/city distinction for simplicity.) If we’re talking l/100km, 7.9 is better than 9.1. **I don’t really give a crap what the numbers mean,** and I suspect most people think the way I do. What matters is how they compare to one another. All other things being equal, the car with the better number - higher if it’s distance-per-volume, lower if it’s volume-per-distance - is going to save me money. You could devise any number of ways to express fuel efficiency, I suppose. All I car about is what that number is relative to competing models of car. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/68 "2017-04-03T13:34:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > **I don’t really give a crap what the numbers mean,** and I suspect most people think the way I do. What matters is how they compare to one another. All other things being equal, the car with the better number - higher if it’s distance-per-volume, lower if it’s volume-per-distance - is going to save me money. > > You could devise any number of ways to express fuel efficiency, I suppose. All I car about is what that number is relative to competing models of car. But as I initially pointed out [in #53](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20104965&postcount=53), and others have echoed, that isn’t the point. The point is that if you’re comparing cars that have, say, a 5 mpg difference in stated fuel consumption, that same 5 mpg is going to equate to dramatically different actual fuel consumption for any fixed distance traveled. In a sense you’re right that it doesn’t matter what the numbers actually mean, but it does matter that l/100 km (or gallons/100 miles) are numbers that scale linearly with real-life fuel consumption across a broad range of fuel efficiencies. A difference of, say, 5 l/100 km is the same difference in cost to travel a given distance whether you’re talking about a motorcycle or a train locomotive, but a difference of 5 mpg varies tremendously among vehicles of different fuel efficencies in terms of what it costs to travel a given distance. That’s why the EPA in the US is now also quoting gallons/100 miles in addition to the standard MPG. MPG differences can be deceptive. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295/69 "2017-04-03T13:37:20Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > The basic issue seems to be how different culture/education systems teach handling physical _quantities_ and/vs. _units_. > > … > > For example voltage = _tension électrique, tensión eléctrica, elektrische Spannung, tensione elettrica, elektrisk spænding, электри́ческое напряже́ние, elektrische spanning, gerilim_ etc. - no volts in sight except in English. Spanish does sometimes refer to _tensión_ as _voltaje_, but with a different usage: we’ll say that a machine takes a _voltaje_ of 120 or 210, or that a line has\* alto voltaje\*. _Voltaje_ refers more to the result of the actual measurement, whereas _tensión_ refers to the different electrical potential and _corriente eléctrica_ to the “zipping about of electrons” you get once you close the circuit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-another-term-to-use-than-mileage-when-discussing-kilometers/783295.md?page=3)