You can start today...
- Get all your questions answered at the Sexy Green Car show
How well you drive and look after your car, what ever it is, has a big effect on its efficiency. Start today and you can reduce emissions, save fuel and money - everybody wins - including our planet.
Driving less, buying fuel efficient vehicles and reducing the amount of fuel you use are all great places to start. Here are our top tips for reducing fuel use to get you started, but don't miss the chance to get all your questions answered face-to-face at the Sexy Green Car Show.
Pump tyres to the correct pressure...
Driving with flat tyres can mean you use up to 8% more fuel (we have free pressure checkers and pumps at the show)
Close your windows
Driving with open windows can mean you use 5% more fuel
Turn off your air conditioning
This can reduces fuel consumption by
5 - 10%
Empty your boot
Excess weight or drag costs you fuel. Get rid of the roof rack if you're not using it, take the golf clubs out of the boot
Switch off
If you are stationary with the engine on you are doing zero miles per gallon. Switch it off if you are stopped for more than a couple of minutes. A US study found that 17% of fuel was lost in idling
Service your car regularly
Regular servicing should pay for itself in saved fuel
Drive smoothly
...and use higher gears as much as possible
Choose to cruise
Choose uncongested routes if possible: cars are more efficient at higher cruising speeds
Slow down on the motorway
The fuel needed to overcome drag increases with the cube of driving speed
Combine trips
...and save time, effort and money (or try getting your weekly shop delivered)
Buying a new car?
Next time you buy a car, consider the newest model you can afford, and whether you can go down a size - less weight, less fuel, less C02 emissions. Cars of about the same size in the same class vary hugely in efficiency: the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has worked out that if everyone switched to the most efficient car in the same class, emissions from cars would fall by 30%. Exciting new developments in fuels, engines, aerodynamics and ultra-lighting all have the potential to make cars much more efficient… and they’ll be here all the quicker if we demand them.
