Keeping the Cost of Fuel Down

These days, it seems, barely a month goes by without some event triggering a fuel price rise - or at least the threat of one.

Motorists are beginning to fear that spiralling fuel prices might drive the cost of motoring to prohibitively high levels.

It might come as a surprise, therefore, to learn that in real terms motoring costs, including fuel, have remained constant over the last 20 years - and even fell by around 3% between 2000 and 2004. *

Even so, UK drivers still pay heavily for what is often an unavoidable necessity.

Despite the fact that at cost price UK fuel is the cheapest in Europe, after fuel duty and VAT are added it becomes the second most expensive.

And the prospect seems pretty bleak. The combination of decreasing global supplies of oil, increasing instability in strategic areas of the world, and stubborn Government policies points to increasing fuel costs in the future.

In these circumstances, all drivers, whether corporate or private, would be well advised to take steps to reduce these costs. Here are a few practical suggestions:

• Next time you change your car, consider if a diesel car would afford you increased mpg
• Next time you change your car, make sure you find out the mpg
• Have your car serviced regularly, and especially ensure that the wheels are aligned correctly and the engine properly tuned
• Check your tyre pressures - under inflated tyres not only wear out more quickly, they increase fuel consumption by up to 8%
• Avoid braking sharply and accelerating rapidly - these increase fuel consumption by up to 10%
• Remove the roof rack if you are not using it - and jettison any unnecessary weight, especially all that junk in the boot!
• Switch off the air conditioning if you do not need it - it can add another 10% to your fuel costs ...
• ... but if you need to cool down, a/c is cheaper than driving with the windows open because wind drag causes fuel consumption to increase considerably
• Plan to fill up at cheaper sites - if you have to use an expensive station, purchase only what you need to get to a more economical one
• Bear in mind that driving more than five miles to find cheaper fuel is probably self-defeating

Finally, a question we should all ask ourselves on a regular basis: "Do I really need to take the car for this journey, or would it be cheaper and healthier to walk, or go by bike?"

How much do you spend on fuel?

Why don't you check our Fuel Cost Calculator to see how much you spend on fuel per year.

_{*Commission for Integrated Transport report 2004}