How To Get The Most Miles From Your Car In 3 Easy Steps
Fuel prices may have decreased in recent weeks according to the AA’s Fuel Price report for August 2010, but the cost of running a car is still extremely high and these 3 points show how you can get the most miles from your car and therefore the most from your money.
1. Buy a car with a high MPG ratio – the most obvious and easiest way to get the most miles from your car is to buy a car that has been developed for great fuel consumption.
Smart dealers in particular have a range of cars that have a great MPG ratio, such as their ForTwo range, which can achieve in excess of 70 miles per gallon.
However, the cars in Smart dealers almost all run on single fuel and although hybrid cars are still in their infancy at the moment, it’s worthwhile looking at what cars are available that run on duel fuel, such as electricity and petrol, as the MPG rate here can be far superior.
2. Remove any unnecessary items from your car – a car’s engine is designed to work at its optimum speed when it is carrying just one or two passengers, as it’s this amount of weight that the engine can pull (or push) with the car, whilst still providing a respectable number of miles per gallon.
As it’s therefore obvious that the more weight there is in a car the harder the engine has to work, it’s important that you remove any unnecessary items from your car.
Some items, such as basic car tools, are recommended to be left in for safety purposes but others, whether it’s several CDs or bottles of water that you’ve left in from when you’ve been shopping, should all be taken out.
In addition, aerodynamics are also important and have an effect on how many miles you can get from each gallon of fuel and therefore if you’ve got a roof rack case on your car that is empty, take it off and you’ll notice a distinct increase in your MPG ratio.
3. Drive as if you were back on your driving test – when you’re looking to get as many miles possible from your car, you need to ensure that you drive as properly as you can and the best way to do this is to imagine you are back on your driving test.
You might think you don’t drive much differently from when you passed your test, but even if it’s just been a few months, it’s likely that you do.
One of the most obvious points is that you’ll realise just how hard you brake and how harsh you accelerate.
On your driving test and in your lessons you’re told to brake by reducing your speed slowly but surely and to accelerate in the same way.
Once the test is passed, however, it soon becomes easier – or at least it seems to be easier – to accelerate quicker to get away sooner and to brake harsher and faster so that you don’t waste as much time.
Unfortunately, each one of these points reduces your MPG and therefore as temping as it can be if you’re, for example, driving out of a Jaguar dealership in your new XJ to speed away and show off the roar of your engine, don’t – it will do nothing but make your MPG ratio plummet.
Jardine Motors Group UK operates a large portfolio of specialist franchises of the world’s most prestigious marques, including Smart dealers.
