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Driving
Foresight when driving
If you think ahead when driving, you will need
t
o br
ak
e l
ess and thus accel
erate less. Take
advantage of the inertia of the vehicle when-
ever possible, with a gear engaged. This
takes advantage of the engine braking effect,
reducing wear on the brakes and tyres. Emis-
sions and fuel consumption will drop to zero.
Changing gear to save energy
An effective way of saving is to change in ad-
vance to a higher gear.
Manual transmission: shift up from first to
second gear as soon as possible. Choosing
the right gear enables fuel savings. Select the
highest possible gear appropriate for the
driving situation (the engine should continue
functioning with cyclical regularity).
Automatic transmission: accelerate gradu-
ally and without reaching the “kick-down”
position.
Avoid driving at high speed
Avoid travelling at your vehicle’s top speed,
whenever possible. Fuel consumption, emis-
sion of harmful gases and noise pollution
multiply as speed is increased. Driving at
moderate speeds will help to save fuel.
Reduce idling time
In vehicles with the Start-Stop system idling is
automatically reduced. In vehicles without
the Start-Stop system it is worth switching off
the engine, for example, at level crossings
and at traffic lights that remain red for long
periods of time. When an engine has reached
operating temperature, and depending on
the cylinder capacity, keeping it switched off
for a minimum of about 5 seconds already
saves more than the amount of fuel necessa-
ry for restarting.
The engine takes a long time to warm up
when it is idling. Mechanical wear and pollu-
tant emissions are also especially high during
this initial warm-up phase. It is therefore best
to drive off immediately after starting the en-
gine. Avoid running the engine at high speed.
Regular maintenance
Regular servicing helps in saving fuel even
before the engine is started. A well-serviced
engine gives you the benefit of improved fuel
efficiency as well as maximum reliability and
an enhanced resale value. A badly serviced
engine can consume up to 10% more fuel
than necessary.
Avoid short journeys
The engine and catalytic converter need to
reach their optimal operating temperature
in order to minimise fuel consumption and
emissions.
A cold engine consumes a disproportionate
amount of fuel. The engine reaches its work-
ing temperature after about four kilometres
(2.5 miles), when fuel consumption will return
to a normal level.
Check tyre pressure
Always make sure the tyres are inflated to the
correct pressures
›››
page 348 to save fuel. If
the pressure is below half bar, fuel consump-
tion may increase by 5%. Due to the greater
rolling resistance, under-inflation also increa-
ses tyre wear and impairs handling.
Do not use winter tyres all year round as
they increase fuel consumption by up to 10%.
Avoid carrying unnecessary loads
Given that every kilo of extra weight will in-
crease the fuel consumption, it is advisable
make sure that no unnecessary loads are be-
ing transported.
Since the luggage rack increases the aero-
dynamic drag of the vehicle, you should re-
move it when not needed. At speeds of
100-120 km/h (62-75 mph), this will save 12%
of fuel.
268
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