What can you do to cut your motoring costs and reduce fuel consumption? Take a look at our top 10 tips on different ways you can avoid wasting fuel, save money and reduce carbon emissions.
1. Maintain your vehicle
Well-maintained vehicles generally use fuel more efficiently, so it is worth keeping your vehicle in good condition with regular services and by getting issues fixed quickly.
2. Inflate tyres to the correct pressure
The surface area that is in contact with the road increases when a tyre is under-inflated. The more surface area in contact with the road, the more drag on the wheel and the more fuel you use.
3. Remove excess weight
Your car uses more fuel if it is heavy so take anything out of the car that you are not using. Sometimes it feels good to have a good clear out.
4. Top up your fuel tank with only what you need
Avoiding having a full tank means the fuel you do have goes slightly further. Some fuel tanks can take up to 109 litres, so that is a significant amount of extra weight to carry around.
5. Drive smoothly
Your driving style might have a big impact on how much petrol or diesel you use. Try to keep your driving smooth. Gentle acceleration and using the highest safe gear should use less fuel.
6. Reduce your air con and heat use
Every time you go to cool down your car with the air conditioning, you are reducing your fuel. It is the same for your heating. So, only use both of these if you really need to. Both use engine power to work properly and therefore increase your fuel consumption.
7. Avoid idling
Keeping the engine running while you are stopped – otherwise known as idling – consumes roughly half a gallon to about a gallon of fuel every hour. You will also be pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is likely you’re burning less fuel by turning off your engine, then restarting it when you have to move again. Plus, leaving your engine idle for too long is illegal.
8. Do not coast – it is a bad driving technique
Coasting – which is driving out of gear – is not a safe driving technique. Some people coast to try to reduce their fuel consumption, but coasting does not save fuel. Modern cars have electronic control units (ECUs) so your car uses less fuel when going downhill anyway.
9. Use cruise control or speed limiter
One way to save fuel is to drive at a constant speed. Cruise control or a speed limiter can help with this. If you are on the motorway or on a long constant flat surface activate cruise control. Using either of these options should reduce your fuel consumption.
10. Combine journeys into one round trip
Instead of making several one-off trips, try to combine them into a single round trip for better fuel efficiency. Once an engine is warmed up and running it becomes more fuel efficient.
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