Back to Motoring Advice

	Back to Cutting motoring costs

Use less fuel

It seems the pump prices go up almost every week, so squeezing even one or two more miles from a litre will help.

Drive slower

It seems obvious, but reducing your speed by just a few mph will also reduce engine revs, and use less fuel. 5mph slower won't add much to your journey time, but it will leave more in your wallet. It will also help you...

Drive smoother

Going a little more slowly gives you more time to react, so you can be smoother with the controls. Harsh braking and acceleration are the enemies of economy, while a gentle touch uses less fuel and also reduces wear and tear on your car.

Don't punish the engine

Revving hard and blasting away from the lights in clouds of tyre smoke isn't going to do anything positive for your fuel consumption. But there again, crawling away at tortoise pace, with a queue of angry drivers behind you, won't help either. Accelerate with 'moderate briskness' so you can get into top gear sooner, which will let you cover more miles at lower engine revs. It's better for the engine too, which bring us to...

Keep your car in tune

A regularly serviced car is much more fuel-efficient than one which has an old congested air filter, worn-out spark plugs, clogged fuel injectors and sludgy oil. Modern cars have diagnostic systems which quickly pinpoint the cause of poor running, so it shouldn't take long to highlight any faults. You'll soon start to recoup the cost of the service by saving on fuel. Your car will feel better to drive, too.

Stuck in traffic

If you're stuck in traffic and it looks like you won't be moving for at least a few minutes, turn the engine off. Even at idle, it's still burning fuel. Conversely, don't be tempted to slip the gearlever into neutral and coast downhill. You won't save that much and it isn't safe. You lose engine braking and won't be able to accelerate quickly if you suddenly need to take avoiding action.

Check your tyre pressures

Surveys regularly show a large percentage of us frequently drive with incorrect tyre pressures. Underinflated tyres create more drag, so the car needs more energy - and fuel - to move. Overinflated tyres reduce the area of tyre contact with the road, so you lose vital grip.

Go natural

It's tempting to drive with the air conditioning on all the time, but the air con compressor adds quite a significant load to the engine, which consequently uses more fuel.

At lower speeds, turn off the air con and drive with the windows open. At higher speeds, having the windows open increases wind resistance which will put your fuel consumption back up, so raise the windows and turn the air con back on if you need it. Higher speeds should mean a higher gear, so the engine should be running relatively efficiently and air con will have less impact on your fuel consumption.

Stay standard

Have you fitted fat alloys and wide tyres to your ride? They may look good, but larger tyres inevitably have more rolling resistance, which adds to your fuel consumption. And alloy wheels are often not much lighter than the car's ordinary steel wheels, so any weight saving tends to be minimal and is negated by the larger tyres. Standard spec might not be so cool, but it uses less fuel.

Travel light

If you've put a roof rack, roof box or bike carrier on for your holiday and never bothered to take it off, you're carrying unnecessary extra weight and spoiling the carefully designed aerodynamics of your car. As you'll be paying the penalty in higher fuel consumption, it's well worth spending the time to remove these items. And while you're doing it, check you're not carrying around unused tools or other heavy loads in the boot. The less you carry, the less fuel you'll use.

Plan your route

Getting lost and driving around aimlessly wastes fuel, so plan your route before you go or use a Sat Nav. Don't always be tempted to set 'shortest route' on your Sat Nav; it may send you down narrow country lanes where you stand a good chance of getting stuck or blocked, wasting fuel while you wait for your route to clear. Better to stick to major roads and use traffic alerts if you can access them.

Avoid short runs

If it doesn't take too long to walk, that's a better option than two or three minutes in the car. And if you commute to work by car, see if your employers will let you work from home. Apart from saving fuel, you'll get back your commuting time and improve your quality of life!

	Choose the 'greenest' cars

	Pay less road tax

	Avoid big garage bills

	Avoid road tolls and charges