5 Ways to Save Fuel  

• Considered regular vehicle maintenance ensures maximum efficiency
• Maintaining recommended tyre pressures is a critical part of saving fuel
• Reduce the drag on your moving vehicle by removing accessories when not needed
• Plan each trip to minimise time spent negotiating energy-sapping congestion
• Select ECO driving mode whenever possible 

With the topic of rising fuel prices at the forefront of many conversations in South Africa, there’s never been a more prudent time to reevaluate how each litre of petrol or diesel stored in your vehicle’s fuel tank is accounted for.

Let’s explore five simple ways of delaying your next visit to the fuel pump:

1.     Vehicle maintenance

Your car performs at its efficient best when all its moving parts, including those within its engine and drivetrain, are running smoothly. Ensuring your recommended service intervals are met ensures that fresh oils and lubricants, as well as all relevant filters, are performing optimally, thereby allowing your car to operate as efficiently as the day it left the showroom.

Vehicle maintenance extends to ensuring all body panels and factory-fitted accessories are securely fastened to allow optimal airflow over the surface of the moving vehicle, as well as managing the condition of all tyres, including tread depth and recommended pressures.

2.     Tyre Pressures

A significant factor in determining how efficient your moving vehicle can be is drag. This means anything working against the forward momentum of your vehicle. This includes under-inflated tyres, where the tyre surface is expanded beyond its optimal working conditions, with more rubber than is required making contact with the road, thus creating drag.

Monitored at least monthly, and best measured while the tyre is cold, maintaining the recommended tyre pressures outlined on either the inside of your vehicle’s driver’s door or, indeed, in the owner’s manual, ensures that only the optimal surface area of your car’s tyres contacts the road.

On this, it’s recommended to have your car’s wheel alignment and balancing monitored at least at each scheduled service to ensure the tyres are performing optimally.

Conversely, an over-inflated tyre will wear unevenly, shortening its life. This also causes only the middle section of the tyre’s surface to contact the road, which is dangerous because it lowers available grip.

Several Volkswagen vehicles are fitted with tyre pressure monitoring technology that alerts a driver to any discrepancies.

3.     Limit Accessories

To furthermore eliminate unwanted drag while your vehicle is on the move, it’s recommended that accessories such as roof rails and bicycle racks be removed when not needed. This will allow a smoother, uninterrupted airflow over and around your vehicle, making it more efficient.

4.     Plan your Routes

Whether via a factory-fitted satellite navigation system or a smartphone mirrored to your vehicle’s modern infotainment system, there are several benefits, including fuel savings, to be had by using technology to plan each journey. This includes avoiding energy-sapping congestion or, indeed, selecting a route that favours open road or sections of freeway, where your vehicle will spend more time in more efficient taller gears.

Some modern navigation systems, including those offered by Volkswagen, can plan the operation of conveniences like air-conditioning, cruise control and start/stop technology around prevailing traffic conditions, including weather, routes with hills, and congestion, including around schools and busy intersections. 

Careful route planning also includes time management, so you’re less likely to be rushed, which can be detrimental to overall fuel consumption.

5.     ECO mode

Available on several modern Volkswagens, a selectable ECO driving mode favours overall fuel savings by recalibrating operating functions, including throttle response, engine mapping, and even climate control settings for optimal efficiency.