The best time to think about saving fuel is before buying a car. Generaly,the smaller the car the less gas it will use. And since insurance and taxes are also greater in large cars, it may be sensible to buy a small car if you care about the money. Also, among the bigger cars, some are better than others. All you have to do is relate the miles per gallon figure that comes with it. Sports cars, are the best way to get rid of your money fast, and automatic transmission vehicles are a good way of wasting a lot of it.
But thats obvious. The interesting thing is how to make a car which you already have in your garage, go further on every single gallon. As a rule, you can improve fuel efficiency by as much as 25% simply by the way you drive the car, provided that your car has a manual gearbox.
Here's what you do: Try to change the gears (up) without the engine going to high RPM - certainly not over 2.5k RPM (2500 rounds per minute). I know a lot of people extend first,second and sometimes even third gear more than that because they want to accumulate speed. This may get you to the next traffic light before the car on the other lane, but there's a price to be paid - paid with a currency called petrol.
As long as you change the gears early you're pretty much maximizing the fuel efficiency of your motorcar. One last tip: Stay away from traffic and don't crawl (using the cluctch) too much. In other words, driving in the city is wasteful where fuel is concerned.
These are the cars that use the least amount of gas (highest mileage per gallon). Figures show MPG City and Highway.
Most Fuel Efficient Overall
Honda Insight - 60 66
Most Efficient Minicompact Cars
MINI Cooper Manual(5) - 28 36
MINI Cooper Automatic(variable) - 26 34
Most Efficient Subcompact Cars
VW New Beetle (Diesel) Manual(5) - 37 44
VW New Beetle (Diesel) Automatic(6) - 35 42
Most Efficient Compact Cars
Honda Civic Hybrid Automatic(variable) - 49 51
VW Golf (Diesel) Manual(5) - 37 44
Most Efficient Midsize Cars
Toyota Prius (Hybrid) - 60 51
Hyundai Elantra 4 cyl, Manual(5) - 27 34
Most Efficient Large Cars
Hyundai Sonata 4 cyl, Manual(5) - 24 34
Hyundai Sonata 4 cyl, Automatic(4) - 24 33
Most Efficient Small Station Wagons
Pontiac Vibe 4 cyl, Manual(5) - 30 36
Toyota Matrix 4 cyl, Manual(5) - 30 36
Scion xB 4 cyl, Automatic(4) - 30 34
Most Efficient Midsize Station Wagons
Ford Focus Station Wagon 4 cyl, Manual(5) - 26 34
Ford Focus Station Wagon 4 cyl, Automatic(4) - 26 32
Dave Burton
www.bargain-motors.com
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