Driving economically

By learning how to drive economically, you can reduce your car's fuel consumption by up to 15%, while at the same time subjecting the car to less wear. Over time, driving in this manner can save you a lot of money in reduced fuel and repair costs.

An economical driving style also produces less exhaust emissions and noise than a more aggressive driving style.

By driving economically you reduce both fuel consumption and exhaust emissions

Driving economically means that you should:

• Shift up early and skip gears when appropriate.
• Accelerate firmly, but not hard.
• Drive in a high gear without making the engine run unevenly.
• Avoid high engine speeds and heavy acceleration.
• Keep to the speed limits.
• Maintain a steady throttle.
• Use engine braking when appropriate.
• Plan your driving.
• Avoid unnecessary braking and stopping.
• Ease off the accelerator downhill and maintain a steady throttle uphill.

Traffic safety is always the most important

Driving economically is good for both the environment and for traffic safety as it is a very calm, smooth and calculated driving style. However, traffic safety always has higher priority than driving economically.

In a situation where you have to quickly stop the car to avoid an accident, you should not think about engine braking or braking softly. It is far more important to stop the car as soon as possible.

Upshifting early and accelerating firmly

To drive economically, you should try to reach a steady speed and a high gear as early as possible. A car travelling at a steady speed uses less fuel than a car that keeps accelerating for a long time.

You should therefore shift up early after moving off or when you need to increase speed again, for example after braking. When appropriate, you should also skip gears. The higher the gear you can use without the car running unevenly, the lower the fuel consumption will usually be.

If the car feels sluggish or jerky in a high gear, you should choose a lower gear. In other words, you should not drive in the highest possible gear at all costs, but choose a gear that works well in the situation.

Upshift early and skip gears to reduce fuel consumption

When driving economically, it is best to accelerate firmly, but not hard. Try to reach the desired speed without making the acceleration last longer than necessary. Unnecessarily high engine speed and heavy acceleration increase both fuel consumption and emissions.

By shifting up early and accelerating in this way, you reduce not only fuel consumption, but often engine noise as well.

Speed considerations

To minimise fuel consumption, it is also very important that you not drive at excessive speeds. The faster you drive, the more air resistance there is. This leads to an increase in fuel consumption.

At speeds above 70–75 km/h, fuel consumption increases noticeably the faster you drive. For every extra 10 km/h, fuel consumption rises by about 0.5–1.0 decilitres per 10 kilometres.

High speeds mean high air resistance and high fuel consumption

It is also important to maintain a steady throttle, as your car uses less fuel when you drive smoothly than when you keep varying the throttle, for example because of changing traffic conditions. A car that maintains a steady speed consumes less fuel than one that is accelerating.

Driving at a lower speed and with a steady throttle not only reduces fuel consumption and the emission of air pollutants, but also the amount of particles produced by tyre, road surface and brake wear.

Lower speeds also reduce engine, wind and tyre noise.

Engine braking

With engine braking, you can slow the car without any fuel being supplied to the engine. This is more energy-efficient than using the foot brake unnecessarily.

To engine brake, release the accelerator completely and let the car slow down while it remains in gear. If the speed drops a lot, you can shift down to continue engine braking, as long as you do so smoothly and without straining the engine.

Remember that the brake lights normally do not come on when you engine brake. If the car slows down noticeably, you should therefore brake lightly with the service brake so that traffic behind you understands that you are slowing down.

Some cars slow down clearly when engine braking, while others slow down very little. If the engine noise decreases, you may also lose some sense of how fast you are going. You should therefore check the speedometer from time to time so that you do not drive faster than you realise.

Engine braking is often more noticeable in petrol-powered cars than in diesel-powered cars, because petrol engines usually slow the car more when the accelerator is released.

Monitor both the tachometer and speedometer while engine braking

Planning your driving

By planning your driving you can avoid unnecessary braking, stopping and starting. Every time you brake or stop, the car loses speed that must then be built up again using additional energy. In order to reduce your fuel consumption you should make as few stops as possible and maintain a steady speed.

To be able to plan your driving, you should keep a proper distance to the vehicle in front so that you can see what is happening further down the road. Adapt your speed by engine braking as you approach intersections, roundabouts and traffic lights so that you can, if possible, avoid stopping.

It is much easier to plan your driving if you keep a proper distance to the vehicle in front

Rolling downwards – accelerating evenly upwards

To minimise fuel consumption and wear on the brakes when driving down steep inclines, you should use a low gear without accelerating (release the pedal completely). This way you engine brake, which reduces speed without consuming fuel and helps reduce unnecessary brake wear.

If you use the service brake more than necessary on steep downhill stretches, the brakes can become hot and work less effectively.

Release the accelerator completely and use a low gear when driving down steep inclines

Try to maintain a steady throttle in the highest possible gear in order to drive uphill economically. Provide support with the accelerator but avoid increasing speed. Try to reach a suitable speed before the incline so that you can use a high gear while ascending without having to push the accelerator too hard.

If there is an uphill slope after a steep downhill one you can take advantage of the higher speed generated from going downhill to use a higher gear on the way back up.

Driving economically with automatic transmissions

Today, there is little difference in fuel consumption between new cars with automatic transmissions and those with manual transmissions. Older automatic cars, however, tend to use significantly more fuel. Fuel consumption is influenced more by your driving style than by the type of transmission your car has.

To drive economically with an automatic transmission, keep the following in mind:

• Do not idle to warm up the engine – A cold engine at idle consumes a lot of fuel unnecessarily. The exhaust emissions produced during cold starts are also very harmful. Use an engine pre-heater instead.
• Start smoothly – A car uses a lot of fuel when starting from a standstill. Therefore, move off smoothly and avoid using more throttle than necessary.
• Avoid unnecessary stops – Every start from a standstill consumes a lot of fuel. Plan ahead and try to keep the car rolling to avoid unnecessary stops.

Even if you are driving an automatic transmission car, it is very important to drive economically

Fuel-saving tips

It is not just your driving technique that affects fuel consumption. There are also other things you can do to save fuel:

• Do not idle the car. In many municipalities it is prohibited to idle the car for more than one minute.
• Use the car's climate control sparingly, as it increases fuel consumption by 5–10%.
• Remove roof racks and roof boxes when not in use. A roof box increases air resistance and thus fuel consumption by approximately 10%.
• Make sure the tyres have the correct pressures. Choose a slightly higher tyre pressure within the recommended range.
• Service the car – regular engine servicing can reduce fuel consumption.
• Use an engine pre-heater.

You can save a lot of fuel by removing roof racks and roof boxes when you do not need them

Engine pre-heaters

Using an engine pre-heater is a simple way to minimise negative environmental effects. A preheated engine consumes less fuel than a cold one and also produces a smaller amount of exhaust emissions. During short journeys, especially, there is a big difference between driving away with a cold and a hot engine.

Engine pre-heaters should not be connected for longer than recommended, as that would only result in unnecessary energy consumption.

Connection times

• Below -15 °C: 1.5 hours pre-heating
• 0 °C: 1 hour pre-heating
• 10 °C: 30 minutes pre-heating

Engine pre-heaters should not be used at temperatures above +10 °C.

Compared to a cold engine, a pre-heated engine consumes less fuel and produces far less exhaust emissions during short journeys

Environmentally friendly measures

As a car owner, there are many other things to consider in order to minimise your car's impact on the environment:

• If possible, buy a car that is powered or partly powered by non-fossil fuel.
• Do not choose a larger car than you need. A smaller and lighter car is usually better for both the environment and your finances.
• Choose tyres with low rolling resistance, good wet grip, and a low noise level. This reduces both fuel consumption and environmental impact.
• You can also buy retreaded tyres (used tyres with a new tread). They are often better for the environment, but can lead to poorer driving characteristics.
• Leave all car-related waste (such as oil filters and car batteries) at an environmental station.
• Wash the car in an environmentally friendly way, preferably in an environmentally adapted car wash with oil separation and purification facilities.
• If you wash your car at home you should choose eco-labelled car care products. Avoid cold degreasing agents and never allow polluted water or car care products to flow into street drains. Preferably wash the car on a lawn or gravel surface, as grass and gravel act as simple filters.

Drive less whenever possible

Driving a car is considerably worse for the environment than traveling by bus, train or subway. Replacing as many car journeys as possible with walking, cycling, or using public transport is therefore one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do.

About half of all car journeys are shorter than 5 km. In cities and built-up areas, many car journeys are even shorter, often only 3–4 km. This means that many car journeys can in practice be replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives. If you do not need your own car every day, a carpool or car-sharing service can also be a better alternative than owning your own car.

Since most passenger transport is by car, car traffic has the greatest overall impact on the climate.

Do what you can for the environment to contribute to a sustainable future

Electric and hybrid cars

An electric car is powered by one or more electric motors. It does not release any exhaust emissions while driving, but because the electricity with which its battery is charged must be produced somehow, electric cars also have a negative effect on the environment. However, they are still better for the environment than ordinary cars powered by internal combustion engines.

Electric cars that are only charged with electricity coming from solar, water and wind power have the least impact on the environment.

Electric and hybrid cars also adversely affect the environment, but not as much as those powered by internal combustion engines

Hybrid cars are more common than purely electric cars and, unlike those, hybrid cars are powered by two or more power sources. Usually, in addition to a petrol or diesel-powered internal combustion engine, a hybrid car also has one or more electric motors that help power the car.

Hybrid cars use the internal combustion engine to charge the electric motor's battery while driving. Brake energy and some of the energy that becomes waste heat in an ordinary car can also be used to charge the batteries that power the electric motor.

Regular hybrid cars cannot be charged by an electrical outlet. So-called plug-in hybrids, on the other hand, can.