No doubt about it: The purchase price is the most important thing to consider when buying a car. When it comes to keeping your running costs down, you should definitely take petrol consumption into consideration.

The fact that you can protect the economy by saving on fuels is an obvious first reason, and while this is undeniably a noble goal, it is great to know there’s something in it for your purse, too: By keeping petrol consumption in check, you can significantly improve your finances.

The best thing about this is that reducing petrol consumption is no longer rocket science. After all, most brand new cars already offer remarkably efficient engines and the latest fuel-efficiency-technologies. But even if you can’t afford a new car, you can still achieve significant improvements by keeping some simple recommendations in mind.

To help you get started, we’ve compiled some of the best expert suggestions on how to keep fuel consumption down – and get your finances up.

How to save fuel: Expert suggestions

Not all of the following suggestions may be applicable to you. Still, any one of these ideas can contribute to a more efficient fuel consumption – and thus to a more balanced budget:

• Reduce the number of trips:
  The idea behind this suggestion is that each car engine needs a few minutes before reaching ‘optimum operating temperature’. So, the less often you need to heat it up again, the more efficiently it will run.
• Improve aerodynamics:
  The less friction your car causes with the air while driving, the better. You can achieve quite remarkable improvements in this department with what look to be fairly simple ideas: Keeping windows closed and removing a roof rack or ski box if you have one attached to your car. Merely focusing on these two aspects can already result in remarkable reductions in petrol consumption.
• Improve your accelerator use:
  It’s never too late to optimise your driving technique. Your use of the accelerator in particular is of vital importance with regards to how much petrol you’re using. Experts recommend accelerating smoothly – i.e. keeping your speed fairly constant over the course of your trip and only speeding up gradually and if you really need to. Make sure to never push the accelerator down completely.
• Check your tyre pressure regularly:
  According to The Telegraph, the reasoning behind this suggestion is as follows: “The lower the tyre pressure, the more fuel the car needs to move it down the road.” The newspaper recommends checking the pressure every fortnight. This may cost you five minutes each time – but the savings may be worth it.
• Car Pooling:
  By sharing a car with someone else, you can make the deepest cuts of all. As online car information source Cars.Com puts it: “If you and just one friend or neighbour trade off commuting to and from work, you cut your fuel usage by about 50 percent. No other step will save you as much money.”

How much can you expect to save using these measures? That really depends on what car you’re driving, how many miles you’re clocking each day and a variety of other factors. One thing’s for sure, though: The moment you start reducing your petrol consumption, you will start saving almost instantly.