Eight Ways to Cut Back on Fuel Costs When Renting a Car on Holidays
With the average price of petrol threatening to exceed £1.30 per litre, many British motorists are well-versed in ways of cutting back on their fuel costs at home and they should also implement the same methods when holidaying abroad – exchange rates have a tendency to be deceiving, especially at the pump!
1.Drive at the speed limit
Driving at the speed limit is of course advisable, but are you aware just how much more fuel efficient your rental car will be?
On average, for every 5 mph you decrease your speed you can reduce your fuel consumption by roughly 7 percent – that’s quite a lot when filling up the tank – plus you can also avoid having to negotiate with an overzealous policeman by the side of the road who, chances are, won’t speak a word of English and will only become more irate every time you try to explain yourself – Sorry senor, no habla!
2. Leave your baggage in the hotel
The more weight you’re carrying about the more fuel your rental car consumes – the perfect excuse for leaving the wife and kids back at the hotel!
Seriously though, if you don’t need to carry you suitcase or golf clubs with you, leave them at the hotel or just travel light to begin with.
3. Take note of where the petrol stations are near your hotel
Not only is searching for a petrol station a nuisance at the best of times but it can also be a stressful experience when you’re running low on fuel in a foreign land.
If you’re staying at a hotel for a few days, keep your eyes peeled for service stations and take note of where they are so that you can find them easily when you need petrol, or just keep the car filled.
You don’t have to wait until you’re running on fumes to fill up and driving around so that you can fill up so that you can drive around is a rather futile exercise, one that just wastes petrol in the process.
4. Drive smoothly and accelerate slowly
Driving smoothly is by far one of the most effective methods of maximising the fuel economy of your rental car.
Don’t tailgate as this forces you to constantly alter your driving speed and use the brakes, avoid stopping and starting abruptly, and if you’re stuck in a traffic jam that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, turn off the engine until it starts moving again.
5. Lay off the brakes
Driving with your foot touching – even slightly touching – the brake pedal can result in a whopping 35 percent reduction in fuel economy, so lay off the brakes.
6. Check the tyres and keep them inflated to the specified pressure
When holidaymakers rent cars they often assume the rental agency employees have checked everything and their rental car is good to go.
This isn’t always the case, so the first time you fuel up check the tyre pressure, or even better, have the staff check the tyre pressure for you before driving away.
An under-inflation of 7.5 pounds results in a loss of 2.8 percent fuel efficiency in addition to increasing the likelihood of an accident.
7. Use the AC sensibly
According to a recent post on Fueleconomy.gov, “Under very hot conditions, A/C can reduce a conventional vehicle’s fuel economy by more than 25 percent.”
However you want to look at things, a reduction in fuel economy of 25 percent is significant; however, that doesn’t mean you should leave the windows open either because modern cars are designed to maximise aerodynamics and leaving the windows open just creates a drag that may result in greater fuel consumption than blasting the AC.
8. Check the fuel cap
According to informed estimates – whatever they might be – 17 percent of all cars have broken or missing fuel caps.
In addition to releasing pollutants into the air, broken or missing fuel caps impede fuel efficiency, so check the fuel cap when you hire a car and speak to someone if it’s broken or missing.
Forget about constantly converting dollars and euros to pounds when filling up abroad – take note of these tips and you won’t have to bother!
Author: James Hall is writing on a freelance basis for Leasing Options, a company partnering with more than 30 different car manufacturers to offer clients with over 8000 choices. Know more on their website, www.leasingoptions.uk.
Category: Car Lease, Holiday Vacations, Travel
