For the first time here in the UK we have seen the cost of filling the average family vehicle surpass the £100 mark! The current average per litre of petrol sits at £1.89, with diesel at almost 10p higher, at £1.98.
With us currently being in a cost-of-living crisis for other household essentials as well as this, its important for us to be able reduce our spending wherever we can, and trying to pull back on our petrol costs is a great place to start.
Find out how below.
Shop Around & Avoid Motorway Fuel Stations
The price of fuel can vary from forecourt to forecourt and town to town.
Supermarkets tend to offer the best price on petrol and diesel in comparison to oil-company owned petrol stations. So filling up when you go to do your supermarket shop will generally help to cut costs, and this method also means you are not driving out of your way to go to a petrol station, as it’s already somewhere you were heading to!
There are tools online that can help you to find the cheapest prices in the vicinity you are in, such as https://www.petrolprices.com/. This tool will provide you with the cost of fuel within a 20 mile radius of your location.
The motorways are nearly always the priciest places to fill up, so be sure to avoid these! The convenience of being able to fill up on the motorway when drivers will be desperate for fuel, with no other choice, which in turn you will pay a premium for!
Declutter Everything Out of Your Car
It may seem crazy, or even a little dramatic, but clearing your car of any unnecessary clutter sat in it or even an unsued roof rack on top of it can help you to reduce your fuel costs.
By reducing the weight of your vehicle, you become more fuel efficient as your car will be able to use less fuel to power itself to carry the weight of the car, as it requires less effort to accelerate.
Although reducing the load of your car won’t make a huge difference in your fuel consumption, if you factor in all of the tips in this guide to keeping your consumption down, it will all add up to really help in the way of saving yourself some money!
Keep Your Tyres Inflated
Tyre pressure is another factor that contributes to your fuel consumption that you may not have considered.
The lower the tyre pressure in your car, the increase on the drag of the car, meaning you will need more fuel to power the car to move. Checking your tyre pressure regularly is the best way to monitor this, and most petrol stations have the facility to check and fill your tyres, so you can tie it in with when you fill up!
Be mindful to not over-inflate them though, as this will also cause you to use more fuel!
Only Add As Much Fuel As You Need
Some of us head to the petrol station and fill our car to the brim to get the pain of paying out of the way, however this isn’t the most fuel efficient way to fill up.
By filling your car to the top everytime, you are increasing the weight of your vehicle, which in turn uses more of the fuel to move the car! So filling up little and often is the most efficient way.
However, don’t pass up on filling up if you have found a cheaper petrol station or have a voucher with a limited time on it, as you will save more by taking the discount than you would by running at a lighter weight.
Accelerate Gradually & Only When Needed
Learning to drive efficiently is another ‘free’ way to keep your fuel consumption down. Think of your accelerator pedal like a drain, every time you pump it, you are releasing more fuel to flow into the engine.
By over accelerating, you are more likely to have to brake harder, which isn’t efficient at all, and in fact is a waste of that fuel you just let flow when you accelerated! It doesn’t mean you have to drive slow, you can still reach high speeds without over accelerating, if you build your speed up smoothly.
Drive in the Highest Gear Possible
Driving in a higher gear is another way to be more fuel efficient. If you can switch up to a higher gear without putting strain on the engine, do it!
It may take a hit on your acceleration, however this isn’t a bad thing as it stops you over accelerating as we mentioned previously. Many new cars also display a gear-shift indicator, letting you know when the most efficient time is to jump the gear up.
If you are a seasoned driver who knows how to short shift your gears, which is when you jump from 1st to 3rd gear, you can also reduce your fuel consumption this way. However, we wouldn’t advise this to drivers who aren’t well-practiced in this area, as it can affect your engine if you aren’t confident in doing it.
Keep Cruise Control for Motorway Driving
You may think cruise control is an efficient way to drive in most scenarios, however, we advise you limit this to motorway driving only.
On long flat roads, such as motorways, you can save on fuel by maintaining a constant speed. This will limit your acceleration, however, it is not advisable to use this method on hilly or bumpy roads. Cruise control is slower to react to the change in gradient, meaning your car will be accelerating for longer than you would if you were going up a hill and controlling the speed and gears.
Take Advantage of Loyalty Schemes
Many of our supermarkets and petrol stations will offer loyalty schemes to try and prevent us from shopping elsewhere for fuel, as they want to keep us as their regular customers.
By signing up to a loyalty scheme you may make money back per litre you put in, or be able to access discounts that aren’t available to regular customers. It's important to avoid only using one petrol station just for the loyalty points as if you see fuel at a lower price at another station, you should always take advantage of that price over points!
