Driving
Foresight when driving
Avoid driving at high speed
engine can consume up to 10% more fuel
than necessary.
Acceleration causes the vehicle to consume
more fuel. If you think ahead when driving,
you will need to brake less and thus acceler-
ate less. Wherever possible, let the car roll
slowly to a stop, with a gear engaged (for in-
stance when you can see that the next traffic
lights are red). This takes advantage of the
engine braking effect, reducing wear on the
brakes and tyres. Emissions and fuel con-
sumption will drop to zero due to the overrun
fuel cut-off.
Avoid travelling at top speed, whenever pos-
sible. Fuel consumption, emission of harmful
gases and noise pollution multiply dispropor-
tionately as speed is increased. Driving at
moderate speeds will help to save fuel.
Avoid short journeys
The engine and catalytic converter need to
reach their optimal operating temperature
in order to minimise fuel consumption and
emissions.
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.
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.
Changing gear to save energy
An effective way of saving is to change in ad-
vance to a higher gear. Running the engine at
high rpm in the lower gears uses an unneces-
sary amount of fuel.
Check tyre pressure
Always make sure the tyres are inflated to the
correct pressures page 333 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.
Manual transmission: shift up from first to
second gear as soon as possible. In any case,
we recommend that you change to a higher
gear upon reaching 2,000 rpm. 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).
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.
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 to
always check the luggage compartment to
make sure that no unnecessary loads are be-
ing transported.
Regular maintenance
Automatic transmission: accelerate gradu-
ally and without reaching the “kick-down”
position.
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
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