HOW TO SAVE ON FUEL BILLS

With Christmas looming and prices for pretty much everything on the rise, I thought I’d scour the internet to bring you some ideas on how to potential save a bit of money on your fuel bills. Of course, 4x4s are never going to be the most fuel efficient vehicles, but hopefully within the next few pages you might find a nugget or two of information that allows you to buy yourself an extra couple of pints at the work’s Xmas do, if that’s still a thing.

Maintenance

I guess this is the obvious one to begin with. Regular maintenance and servicing improves the efficiency of your vehicle, and therefore can improve fuel consumption. Though paying a couple of hundred quid for a service to save a tenner here and there may seem counterintuitive, but it also helps the car in the long run and will help prevent expensive breakdowns.

If you’re a regular green laner, then simply changing the air and fuel filters can help, as would greasing your nipples. Simple things like this helped my old Series 3 Lightweight run a lot smoother.

Decluttering

The lighter your 4x4 is, the less effort it needs to accelerate, obviously. In reality, do we really need a full tool kit in the back? (cue the Land Rover and Range Rover jokes!). Then there’s the Hi-Lift jack and all the recovery equipment. Individually some of the latter may not be that heavy, but once it’s all stored in a box, it can be a different matter.

I’m not suggesting you empty everything out, as you never know what you’ll need for those impromptu winter recoveries. I’ve got into the habit of carrying soft shackles and a single length of recovery rope, as they’re arguably safer, and definitely lighter.

Here’s something controversial - consider not carrying a huge bottle of screen wash! Instead, leave it at home and top it up every time you leave. That said, keeping a small bottle of water in your glovebox for emergencies is always useful. It can also be used for washing road grime from your rear number plate and lights to stop you being pulled by the rozzers!

Keep your tyres properly inflated

Another obvious one. As we all know, low tyre pressures increase your footprint and aid traction whilst off the beaten track, but on the road it will cause a higher rolling resistance as well as causing premature wear - and 4x4 tyres ain’t cheap!

If you don’t have one already, maybe it’s time to invest in a tyre compressor and separate pressure gauge, as those fitted to cheaper compressors can be a bit unreliable.

Roof Top Tents & Roof Racks

I’m aware of quite a few owners who keep their roof top tents and racks up in the gods permanently. If you go out camping every weekend, keeping the tent on your vehicle is a great idea, but if you don't, and let's face it most don't, take it off. Yes they can be heavy and awkward to remove, but invite a couple of mates round, for a beer and it'll be off in 10 minutes

You also don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that a roof rack, even an empty one, adds wind resistance, so consider removing it. That said, a lot of us (me included), have light bars fitted to the rack, so it may not be that easy.

Accelerate gradually

When driving an automatic I find it too easy to simply press the accelerator and drive off without thinking of economy. Recently however I’ve taken to watching the revs on Deux Smurf and trying to keep them under 2,000rpm, and I’ve noticed an increase in mpg. Also, if you ‘floor it’ from the lights, chances are you'll then have to brake hard at the next set. And on that subject…

Take a break from the brakes

(see what I did there?)

Where safe, obviously, allow yourself to slow naturally rather than braking. If you think about it, if you brake frequently you’ll just end up having to accelerate more, which ultimately means using more fuel. So make the most of the car's momentum, and as tempting as it can be, avoid coasting in neutral, it can be dangerous.

Change up and listen

With manual gearboxes always drive in the highest gear possible without labouring the engine, so if you change up much earlier than feels natural (yes, it'll take some pace out of your acceleration, but, as you read in our first tip on this page, that isn't a bad thing. If you have a fuel efficiency display, you'll be surprised how immediate an impact this has.

If you hear sharp acceleration and screeching brakes you know you're doing it wrong. Imagine driving from traffic light to traffic light doing that. The person behind who accelerates and decelerates more slowly will still be behind you at the next light, they'll just have spent far less money getting there.

Keep on movin‘

(a Soul II Soul classic!)

This isn't about what muic to play in the car, although there is some research out there that says playing fast pumping music actually makes you drive faster, therefore less miles to the gallon, no, this is about smooth drivin' (no G).

They say that the most expensive yard you drive is always the first one, as it takes huge energy to get a car going. With that in mind, if you can safely roll up to a traffic light as it changes from red to green, without stopping, it is more efficient than stopping and restarting.

Driving as smoothly as possible is always going to save money, so try to anticipate what’s going to happen in front of you by looking well ahead. This way you’ll see the traffic lights on red meaning you can ease back on the accelerator or slow down naturally and potentially keep moving as opposed to coming to a stop.

Leave your keys at home, blag a lift!

Many years ago, when I owned a V8 Rover SD1. I saved an absolute fortune on the daily 40 mile commute by walking to my boss's house and cadging a lift from him.

Sometimes he was a grumpy sod, and when he’d had pea soup the night before we had to drive with the windows wide open due to the stench, but it did save me a lot of money!

*Disclaimer - this photo in no way represents Damian's commute (though he wishes it did!).

Feeling ‘appy?

I was going to create a list of all the fuel price comparison apps, but there are so many,.

Simply do a search for ‘petrol comparison apps’ (these do include diesel too) and take your pick!