The Price of Petrol

There has been much in the press regarding the price of fuel for cars - I drive a diesel 1.7 automatic - and with the current crisis in Libya and the Coalition Government aiming to reduce the country's deficit we can probably expect the trend to continue.

Many sources of information regarding fuel economy and driving styles reccomend:

• Slower driving speeds,
• Reducing acceleration speeds and not revving the engine,
• Carrying less weight, and;
• Only filling the tank half full (as this further reduces the weight you are carrying in the vehicle).

Of the four, I have been aiming to keep my driving speeds down for some time - not that I have ever been a "Boy Racer" and in an automatic I tend not to rev away nor do I aim always to be at the front of the queue - overtaking is not my thing.

I have now decided to try out carrying less fuel on board (partly as I just feel stung by sixty quid if I fill up the tank) and so from today I am only going to put £30 of fuel into the car (roughly half a tank) and I have reset all the gauges in my car which to date read:

• Projected Range:  254 miles
• Average Speed:  35 mph
• Average Consumption: 39.2 mpg

Lets see how it goes - I will report back.

Graham Andrews