Most drivers agonizing over the cost of
gasoline fail to realize the enormous impact
their driving style has on fuel consumption.
During the last run-up in fuel prices, we
wrote about Edmunds.com's tests of common
fuel-saving driving tips. Some common tips,
it turned out, had little or no effect on
fuel economy. (Edmunds.com provides data and
content for CNN.com's automotive Websites.)
For example, using the air conditioner at
highway speeds had no appreciable effect on
fuel economy compared to rolling down the
windows.
Keeping your tires properly inflated, while
important for safety, has only a small effect
on fuel mileage, according to Edmunds.com's
tests.
Using cruise control on the highway, though,
really does have a noticeable effect on fuel
economy. In Edmunds.com's test using a Land
Rover LR3 and a Ford Mustang, the Land Rover
got almost 14 percent better mileage using
cruise control set at 70 miles per hour rather
than cruising at driver-controlled speeds
between 65 and 75 miles per hour. The Mustang
got 4.5 percent better mileage.
Using cruise control cuts down on unnecessary
speed changes which can eat up gas and it
prevents "speed creep." the tendency for a
driver's average speed to gradually increase
with time spent on the road. (In that way,
it can save you from an expensive speeding
ticket, as well.)
If you want a big gain in fuel mileage,
though, you need to seriously lay off the
pedals when driving around town. Accelerating
more slowly away from green lights and stopping
more gradually for red lights cut fuel consumption
in Edmunds.com's tests by 35.4 percent for
the Land Rover and 27.1 percent for the Mustang.
Slamming down the gas pedal pushes more
fuel into the engine while it also keeps the
engine running faster.
You can also save a lot of gas by just lifting
your foot off the accelerator as soon as possible
when approaching a yellow or red light or
a stop sign.
For one thing, letting up on the gas sooner
gives your car more coasting time.
By the way, when we say "accelerating hard"
and "stopping abruptly" we aren't necessarily
talking about juvenile tire-squealing antics.
If you start keeping a conscious eye on how
you drive, you may realize that you've been
hot-rodding around for years without realizing
it.
In Edmunds.com's tests, they slowed acceleration
times down to a 20 seconds run from zero to
sixty miles per hour. Compared to the kind
of zero-to-sixty times we hear car makers
bragging about these days, 20 seconds may
sound impossibly slow. In fact, it is slow.
But, while it won't get your pulse pounding,
it will get you safely onto the highway.
Since most drivers don't have a stopwatch
handy to time their acceleration, Cole Quinnel,
a spokesman for Chrysler Corp. engineers,
advises not pressing the gas pedal down by
more than an inch unless you really have to.
Using that approach, the difference in fuel
economy will be appreciable.
Let's say that your car currently gets 22
miles per gallon overall. If this laid-back
driving style gets you just 30 percent more
in fuel mileage, which Edmunds.com's tests
indicate it could, you'd see that increase
to about 30 miles per gallon.
It's not easy, though. For most people,
driving this way will feel, to say the least,
awkward. When I tried Quinnel's high-mileage
driving advice, it was difficult to maintain
this disciplined approach to acceleration
and deceleration without consistent effort.
The minute I let my concentration slip --
Zoom! -- off I'd go again in a gas-wasting
rush, just like I usually do.
And, to be perfectly honest, it was a little
embarrassing to drive that way. Every molecule
of testosterone in my body was begging to
be excused for the day.
But, in a couple of short drives, the car
was using significantly less gas per mile,
even with my occasional slip-up. Maybe if
I keep it up, I can soothe my dented ego with
a little cash in my wallet.
