How to spend less on fuel: practical tips
Published - 5 min read
Practical, proven ways to cut your petrol and diesel costs - from where you fill up to how you drive and look after your car.
1. Compare prices before you fill up
Prices for the same fuel can differ noticeably between stations in the same area. Checking a few nearby stations on the live map or your city's price page before you set off is the simplest saving there is.
2. Don't detour too far for a cheaper price
A cheaper station only saves money if the extra driving costs less than the saving. A quick way to check:
- Saving = litres you'll buy x price difference per litre.
- Detour cost = extra miles there and back x your cost per mile.
For example, filling 40 litres at a station 3p a litre cheaper saves £1.20. If reaching it adds a 4-mile round trip in a car doing 45 mpg, the detour uses about 0.4 litres of fuel. Here the detour is worth it - but a longer detour for a smaller difference often isn't. Our MPG guide explains how to work out your cost per mile.
3. Avoid motorway services where you can
Motorway service stations tend to charge more than stations a short distance away. On longer trips, fill up before you join the motorway.
4. Buy the fuel your car needs - not more
If your handbook says standard unleaded or diesel is fine, premium fuels are optional. See E10 vs E5 for when super unleaded makes sense.
5. Keep your tyres at the right pressure
Under-inflated tyres increase rolling resistance, so the engine works harder and uses more fuel. The correct pressures are in your handbook and often on a sticker inside the driver's door or fuel filler flap. Check them regularly, and adjust for a heavy load if your handbook says to.
6. Reduce drag and weight
- Take off roof boxes, bike racks and roof bars when you're not using them - they add wind resistance, especially at higher speeds.
- Clear out heavy items you don't need to carry around.
7. Drive smoothly
- Look well ahead so you can ease off early rather than braking hard.
- Accelerate gently and change up a gear in good time (or let an automatic do so by using a light throttle).
- Keep to speed limits. Fuel use rises considerably as speed increases, so motorway driving at lower speeds uses less fuel.
8. Use air conditioning sensibly
Air conditioning adds load on the engine and increases fuel use. Use it when you need it, but there's no need to run it constantly.
9. Don't idle unnecessarily
An idling engine uses fuel while going nowhere. The Highway Code also says you must not leave your engine running unnecessarily while stationary on a public road.
10. Combine short trips
An engine uses more fuel until it has warmed up, so several short trips from cold use more than one longer trip covering the same errands.
11. Keep your car serviced
Regular servicing, the correct grade of engine oil and a well-maintained engine all help your car run as efficiently as it was designed to.
12. Watch the trend
The UK Fuel Price Index and our weekly fuel price report show whether prices nationally are rising or falling, and with Pennyfill Pro you can get an alert when your usual stations change price.