How to avoid wasting fuel: money-saving tips

How can you avoid wasting fuel, and which driving habits could be increasing your fuel costs? Here are our tips to help you save money and improve fuel usage

With diesel prices reaching a record high in the UK, motorists can be worried about the cost of getting from A to B. This guide is here to help you avoid wasting fuel and develop economical driving habits to make your money go further.

What is fuel efficiency?

Fuel efficiency refers to the rate at which your car’s engine converts fuel into distance covered. The more fuel-efficient your car and driving style, the less money you’ll spend on petrol or diesel.

Fuel consumption is measured in miles per gallon (MPG). This tells you how far your car travels per imperial gallon (about 4.6 litres) of fuel used. It provides a good indication of fuel economy and a means of comparing different vehicles.

MPG figures also enable you to measure the impact of variables such as driving style, road conditions and vehicle load on your car’s fuel efficiency. The higher the MPG, the more fuel-efficient your vehicle is.

How can you avoid wasting fuel?

With diesel topping £2 per litre, it’s never been more important to maximise fuel economy. Here’s how to sharpen your driving technique to keep fuel consumption low.

Drive smoothly and avoid harsh acceleration

Driving technique is one of the biggest contributors to saving fuel because it can make all the difference to how hard your car’s engine has to work.

Darren Moore, a transport manager for a haulage fleet in the South West and an expert on economical driving, says: “A good driving technique to save fuel is to drive smoothly and avoid sudden braking. Keep your pressure on the pedals as light as possible, getting up to speed at a steady pace by changing gear before the revs get too high.

“Then, as far as possible, slow down with similar control: gentle braking, based on reading the road ahead, is the key advice here.”

Maintaining a safe distance from the car in front is wise in any conditions and can help you save fuel. “Giving yourself plenty of room to stop will avoid harsh braking, which wastes all the momentum you’ve built up by burning precious fuel,” says Darren.

“It’s always worth paying close attention to traffic conditions so you can anticipate changes in good time,” he adds. “That enables you to increase or decrease speed at a steady rate, ensuring your car’s engine isn’t working any harder than necessary.”

Keep your speed consistent

Another driving habit that reduces fuel consumption is to keep your speed consistent. At higher speeds – especially on motorways or dual carriageways – maintaining steady engine revs helps maximise fuel economy.

Where driving conditions permit, Darren says technology such as a speed limiter or cruise control can be of assistance in saving fuel.

A speed limiter restricts your speed to a limit you set, while cruise control holds the car at your chosen speed without input on the throttle. Adaptive cruise control goes one step further by maintaining a constant distance from the car in front, up to a maximum speed of your choosing. If the traffic slows, so does your car, without any additional driver input.

These driver aids can avoid you placing any more demand on your car’s engine than is needed, meaning they help deliver the best possible fuel efficiency. According to car manufacturer Kia, using cruise control can improve fuel economy by up to 14%.

Avoid unnecessary idling

Idling is a surefire way to waste petrol or diesel, because your car burns fuel without making any forward progress.

If your car has an auto-stop function, the engine will cut out when you come to a halt, shift into neutral and take your foot off the clutch (in a manual). In an automatic, it shuts off when you stop the car and keep your foot on the brake. This stops the engine turning over, minimising pollutants and meaning it doesn’t waste fuel while halted.

When you put your foot on the clutch to select first gear (or press the accelerator in an automatic), the engine automatically fires up again and you’re ready to move off.

Stop in a long enough traffic jam, however, and the engine restarts before you’re ready to make progress, to ensure the battery doesn’t go flat. You can prevent that by turning off the ignition if it looks like you’ll be paused for longer than a few minutes. It’s a sensible thing to do in a motorway tailback, for example, when you may be in for a long wait.

Another way to minimise stop-start driving and avoid wasting fuel is to revise your route. Many live navigation sites such as Google Maps provide real-time traffic information. If a hold-up is detected, they reroute to maintain progress. It’s usually worth following the alternative route if you want to maximise fuel efficiency.

Vehicle maintenance tips to improve fuel economy

If you’re still wondering how to improve fuel economy, ensure your car’s maintenance is up to date. Follow the manufacturer’s service schedule to make sure components such as oil and air filters are replaced when necessary. These make a difference to the engine’s performance and can play an important role in auto fuel efficiency.

Regular maintenance is a major factor in the reduction of fuel consumption. So, while it may be tempting to save money by skipping a service, it could cost you more in the long run by reducing fuel efficiency and storing up reliability problems – not to mention increasing the risk of an annoying breakdown.

Check your tyre pressures regularly

Tyres are your vehicle’s sole point of contact with the road and have a crucial part to play in fuel efficiency.

Try to check your car’s tyre pressures at least once a month. They gradually deflate over time, which creates more rolling resistance, so your car’s engine has to work harder to cover the ground. Keep them inflated to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure. You’ll find these in your handbook, and they are often displayed on a sticker inside the driver’s door or fuel cap. You’ll reduce fuel consumption as well as minimising the risk of your tyres becoming damaged: a win-win for the budget-conscious motorist.

Reduce unnecessary weight and drag

Take a look in your car’s boot. Are you carrying unnecessary items that add weight to your vehicle? If so, take them out to improve fuel efficiency.

Likewise, remove roof bars and roof boxes when not in use, as they create significant drag that has a negative effect on fuel economy.

Plan journeys to use less fuel

Forward planning can make a big impact on fuel economy – especially if you think about the overall amount you spend on fuel, rather than MPG alone.

If you’re thinking about saving petrol or diesel, there’s an obvious strategy: travel fewer miles. By planning your journeys to combine errands or minimise the distance covered, you’ll get more from your overall spending on fuel.

Each week, take a moment to plan your journeys. Work out which ones are essential, which can be combined and which can be planned to take in a route that will enable smooth driving with minimal stop-starting. You’ll be surprised at the difference this makes to petrol and diesel bills.

Apps and tools for finding cheaper petrol and diesel

As the cost of petrol and diesel continues to rise, it’s worth shopping around for the best prices. But you don’t want to drive miles in search of cheaper fuel, as you’ll most likely negate any savings you make at the pump.

This is where technology can help. For example, since October 2026, Google Maps has displayed fuel prices to help motorists reduce the cost of motoring. It’s now easier than ever to find the cheapest petrol near you.

Other apps that give live information about petrol and diesel prices include Petrol Prices, FuelFind and Fuel Save UK. Consider adding one to your smartphone and you can search for garages by postcode before choosing where to fill up.

Common fuel economy myths

There are plenty of myths around fuel-saving, so it pays to know which ones are worth believing.

Coasting saves fuel: myth

The idea that coasting saves fuel was once accepted wisdom, but now belongs firmly in the myth category. According to Mercedes-Benz, modern cars cut off the supply of fuel to the engine when drivers back off on the throttle while going downhill. Select neutral and you override that system, meaning the engine keeps receiving fuel in order to idle, achieving the exact opposite of your intention.

Fill up early morning or evening: myth

Other fuel-economy myths include the idea that filling your tank in the morning or late at night gives you more fuel for your money because colder fuel is denser (not true, because fuel tanks at petrol stations are temperature controlled).

Warming up the engine: myth

Another claim is that letting your engine warm up before driving saves fuel – again, this simply isn’t correct. In fact, idling your car will only use more fuel.

Avoid using the air-conditioning: up for debate

The belief that you should avoid using air-conditioning to reduce fuel consumption is open to question. While air-conditioning uses up plenty of energy, the drag created by open windows more than offsets any fuel saving when travelling at speed.   

Can good fuel efficiency make driving cheaper?

While MPG provides a way of comparing fuel efficiency in different cars, it’s not as simple as it looks. For a start, the widening gap between petrol and diesel prices makes the higher economy of diesel less relevant.

And when it comes to owning a car, there are a lot of costs to consider. Some cars are more expensive than others to service because of expensive parts or more complex maintenance requirements. And diesels are less likely to be ULEZ exempt, meaning regular urban drivers will pay more to own them.

Final thoughts on saving fuel

Every motorist wants to maximise MPG and reduce their fuel bills. By tweaking your driving habits and keeping up with routine maintenance, you can improve your car’s fuel efficiency and reduce your spending.

You should also consider your car’s running costs in the round. Good fuel economy is one factor in reducing the cost of motoring, but there are others to bear in mind. You may even find that switching to an all-electric vehicle saves you money, even if the cost of purchase is higher.

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