What uses the most fuel in a car? It always depends on the driver: we can save up to 30%

Driving with the windows down, misusing the air conditioning, poor speed management, excessive braking, harsh acceleration: there are many reasons why vehicle consumption soars, but only one that is common and recurring in all of them: the driver.

The driver is the common link in all the variants and factors that influence increasing a car’s fuel consumption. The reactions he or she has, and his or her attitude behind the wheel, will determine the energy and fuel consumption the car may have. Attitude at the wheel, the speed at which one drives, the smoothness of the driving style, and the use of the gear lever as well as the brakes and accelerator pedal will clearly determine the consumption that the car ends up having.

According to a report by Northgate Renting Flexible, a company specialising in renting and flexible mobility solutions for businesses and professionals, drawn from its Green Drivers Experience recently held at the Jarama circuit in Madrid, no less than 30 percent of a car’s usual consumption depends on the type of driving the driver practises. The Green Drivers Experience put to the test the efficient driving skills of company fleet drivers and members of the media who, besides demonstrating their skill behind the wheel in various driving tests, were above all required to show how efficient their driving was in Citroën Berlingo vans and Peugeot, trying to achieve the highest speed with the lowest consumption over a set number of laps of the circuit.

Driving with the windows closed can save up to 20%According to the data gathered at the event, a driver can save up to 30 percent on the consumption homologated by the manufacturer depending on the type of driving practised. Practising efficient driving is the basis of that achievement. It means changing your reactions at the wheel, trying to escape the stress under which we usually drive our car, and adopting a less aggressive style than usual to make the most of the energy used to move the car.

Besides important driving factors such as anticipation and foresight, the driver also helps reduce consumption through how he or she operates certain elements of the car. Thus, depending on the speed at which the vehicle travels, whether or not the windows are open, or the proper adjustment of the air conditioning, also influence consumption reduction.

Opening the windows can increase consumption —depending on speed— by more than 20 percent, especially if we drive above 90 km/h. Consumption also depends on the proper setting of the air conditioning or climate control inside the car. Between a poor and a good setting, the difference in consumption can vary the increase these systems cause by up to 15 percent compared with the car’s consumption.

Likewise, the driver’s ability to modulate pressure on the accelerator pedal is fundamental. Managing vehicle speed is a difficult task, and adding the adjustment needed for efficient driving makes it even more complicated.

Driving without sudden accelerations, without flooring the pedal, and keeping as constant a speed as possible are essential to reducing consumption. Likewise, avoiding unnecessary braking, which wastes part of the energy stored in the engine, are tasks the efficient driver must carry out constantly to avoid excess consumption. Selecting the right gear at the right moment also helps reduce consumption. Optimising gearbox use by driving in high gears at low revs for as long as possible is also essential, as is trying to avoid running the engine at high revs, except in moments when it is necessary for safety reasons (merging, overtaking, pulling away, etc.).