Petrol and diesel prices are climbing sharply again, making every trip to the filling station a little more painful. You cannot control the price on the sign, but a few changes to the way you drive and maintain your car can reduce how often you have to look at it.
The biggest saving starts with your right foot. Hard acceleration sends fuel consumption soaring, especially when it is followed by equally hard braking at the next junction. Accelerate steadily, read the road ahead and ease off the pedal early when traffic begins to slow. The aim is not to crawl everywhere. It is to maintain momentum instead of repeatedly turning fuel into speed and then wasting it through the brakes.
Speed also matters. A car travelling at 70mph usually uses noticeably more fuel than it does at 60mph because the engine must work harder against air resistance. Leaving five minutes earlier can be considerably cheaper than spending the entire journey trying to win them back.
Check your tyre pressures at least once a month and before a long journey. Underinflated tyres create additional rolling resistance, forcing the engine to use more fuel. Use the pressures recommended for your car, which are normally listed inside the driver’s door or in the handbook, rather than guessing from the number printed on the tyre.
Maintenance makes a difference too. Old engine oil, clogged filters, worn spark plugs and binding brakes can all make a car work harder than it should. Ignoring a warning light may also turn a small efficiency problem into a much larger repair bill.
Think about where you fill up, but do not drive miles out of your way to save a penny per litre. Check nearby prices when you are already making a journey and combine errands instead of making several separate trips. A cold engine uses more fuel, so one longer outing is generally more efficient than repeatedly starting from cold.
Premium petrol is another easy place to overspend. Some high-performance cars require it, but most ordinary vehicles are designed to run perfectly well on standard unleaded. Check the handbook before automatically reaching for the most expensive nozzle.
Finally, stop carrying unnecessary weight. A boot permanently filled with tools, boxes and abandoned shopping bags is extra mass the engine must move on every journey.
None of these changes will halve your fuel bill overnight. Together, though, they can make a tank last longer without making every drive feel like an economy challenge.
