How to Save Money on Petrol

By Nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk

The best things in life are free, and if you’re

wondering how to get more miles to the gallon,

you’ll find that many of the most dramatic

benefits come through learning how to drive

economically

• Your bike rack and other non-essential accessories are just dead weight when you’re not using them

• This isn’t just about the weight: roof racks also cause a great deal of wind resistance

Lighter vehicles use lessRemove your roof rack

• Keep safety equipment and supplies only if they’re appropriate to your journey: keeping heavy snow chains in your boot will slow down your summer motoring for no good reason

Lighter vehicles use lessHave a good clear out

Lighter vehicles use lessDrive with less fuel

• It’s technically more economically sound to go more regularly to your petrol station, keeping your tank between half and three quarters full

• A full tank contributes significant weight, thus hindering efficient movement

Economical driving techniquesAvoid unnecessary acceleration and sharp braking

• Travelling slower and anticipating safe breaking distances early is more efficient than fast acceleration followed by sharp braking

• You use more fuel the faster you go, and abrupt braking only wastes energy you’ve already put your foot down for.

Economical driving techniquesSwitch your engine off

• There is no need to ‘warm up’ your engine, unless you’re driving a vintage car enthusiast and you’re trying to get your Model T off of the driveway

Economical driving techniquesChanging gear earlier

• Most drivers could make savings by changing up gear earlier, thus giving their engines less work to do

Economical driving techniquesTurn off the air conditioning

• Only use air conditioning when you absolutely have to, and always turn it off when driving at lower speeds

• Don’t get uncomfortable though: consider whether fuel economy is really more important than a sweaty hour in a M25 jam

Economical driving techniquesKeep your windows closed

• However, opening your windows to keep cool and save petrol by not running your air conditioner at all is actually counterproductive

• At high speed, you’ll actually be wasting more fuel thanks to air resistance (and you’ll be slightly warmer and more uncomfortable to boot)

Economical driving techniquesSharing is caring

• The more people the better. Yes, technically this contradicts all said above about weight, but four people in a single car are going to use far less petrol than four drivers in four separate cars

• Even asking for a ‘small contribution’ to the operating costs should cover the inefficiency. Get everyone to pay an equal share, and you’ll all save a substantial amount.

• Your car may be technically compatible with premium quality petrols, but that doesn’t mean that it actually benefits from being filled up with them. Only high performance cars – such as sports cars and upper tier luxury vehicles – need to be filled up with premium fuel. Otherwise, you are just paying extra for no extra benefits

• A recently serviced vehicle with no mechanical problems or developing aches and pains will be a lot more efficient than any car or van that is slowly starting to fall apart

Additional tips

• Over-inflate your tyres and you can expect to see handling problems. But if you fall below the recommended pressure, you will see your miles per gallon (MPG) start to plummet. Save on petrol: check your tyres

• Planning a journey so that you always take the shortest route (with the least time spent idling in queues) will always mean greater efficiency. Use Google Maps or the AA’s route planner

Additional tips

Pay less

Ensuring greater fuel efficiency through best practice will only

get you so far. In fact, those pennies you save may well be

completely irrelevant if you’re filling up at an expensive petrol

station

How do you find the best deal on petrol in your area? We have

briefly reviewed some of the petrol pricing options currently

available on the internet and on your phone

Pay less: Finding cheaper petrol

Petrolprices.com

• Signing up is free and will ensure you receive free email updates on prices in your area on a schedule of your choosing. The site additionally plots stations on an interactive map, as well as providing in-depth analysis of where you are in relation to each station, the price of fuel there and the date that data was last updated

• The site claims 8,000 daily updates

• A comprehensive app is available for iOS and Android, currently priced at £3

Pay less: Finding cheaper petrol

Whatgas.com

• Offers up all its information without the need to register

• Petrol station locations are positioned on an interactive map

• Prices are generally updated every week, but a few more remote stations may remain out of date for some time. While full of useful information, Whatgas.com does lack deeper functionality – it won’t tell you where the best prices are for fuel in your area, you’ll have to manually look for them yourself

• There is an app version with the same functionality

Pay less: Finding cheaper petrol

• Avoid going too far out of your way for small savings

• It’s pointless to think about where it’s cheapest to fill up if you’ve only got 10 miles worth of fuel left to get there – leave about 25 miles at least, 50 for long journeys

• Supermarkets often provide cheap petrol, and offer the convenience of getting petrol with your shopping, as well as coupon and reward incentives

• Sign up for loyalty schemes, but remember to shop around: reward points rarely cover the differences in cost

Pay less: Further petrol pricing tips

Pay more to pay less

Buying the most economical car or vanJust ten years ago, fuel efficiency advice would have been limited to the (still perfectly true) facts that:• Small cars and smaller engines have better fuel efficiency than bigger cars and bigger engines• Diesel engines are more fuel efficient than petrol

However, fuel efficiency is now sufficiently important that car adverts and showrooms make MPG more visible. A simple ‘band A’ to ‘band G’ fuel rating, accompanied by expected road tax will be displayed on most new models

You should always read and compare specifications for MPG ratings – always ensure that the specifications are specific to the precise model you are shopping for (two identical looking vehicles can sometimes have very different specifications)

Of course, the most ‘fuel efficient’ vehicles on the market currently are those that are not using petrol at all or at least only partly using petrol. Electric and hybrid vehicles are providing a far cheaper way of filling up. However, it’s open for debate whether it is actually cheaper to own one of these vehicles when all of the costs of running them are taken into consideration as purchase prices still remain high

Pay more to pay less: Premium fuel economy tips

Want more information?Check out the full guide here:

www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/guides/vehicle-maintenance/fuel-economy

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