Did You Know India Has Highest Taxes On Petrol And Diesel Globally

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 23, May 2020, 19:56 pm IST | UPDATED: 23, May 2020, 19:56 pm IST

Delhi, May 18: With India now having the highest taxes on petrol and diesel all over the world, it is all but natural that saving fuel costs is something that would be on all of our minds.

Here we give you simple tips on how to increase the fuel economy of your car regardless it is an automatic or manual or diesel/petrol. These are simple tricks that can go a long way in saving your money.

1. First and foremost, whether you save fuel costs depends a lot on your driving. It begins with maintaining your car and keeping it clean plus servicing it regularly. Lockdown means cars are parked and gathering dust/dirt, so try to park your vehicle in a garage or a place where the least amount of dirt will accumulate. Taking good care of your car in the lockdown will mean the car will not give unnecessary problems prompting you to save.

2) Keeping your car's tyres properly inflated is another important point as it is after the only contact point between your car and the road. Maintaining correct tyre pressure is very important in increasing fuel economy. Thus maintain the correct tyre pressure as written on your car (check the driver side door). Also before going to check your car's tyre pressures do not drive fast to the fuel pump.

3) Keeping a smooth cruising speed is very important when driving. Now with lockdown easing, traffic is thin on our roads but the sight of empty roads should not be an incentive to press on the accelerator and speed. It is important not to over speed and maintain a cruising speed in line with the speed limit. Plus if your car has cruise control use it and maintain a steady speed generally not crossing 40/60 kmph in city conditions!

4) When driving a manual car it is very important to shift at the correct rpm and not rev the engine or shift too early. As an example do not be lazy and not shift to a higher gear as late as post 2,500 rpm or 3,000 rpm, as then your car is using more fuel. Or not downshifting at the right rpm is also another reason your car is drinking more fuel. Thus running your car in too high a gear is not correct, too. Most manual cars have a gearshift indicator, thus use it to shift gears correctly.

5) Another important point is that do not drive with your foot on the brake. It adds pressure on your engine, transmission and brakes. When driving an automatic car, accelerate slowly and try to get the automatic car to shift earlier than it wants as generally automatic cars stay in a gear longer. Generally, cars have an eco mode for saving fuel hence also use that.

6) Modern cars have start/stop features to save fuel and that is indeed useful so that feature does help but bear in mind the aircon is turned off when the system comes on. Also when driving it is best to modulate and plan ahead. Do not slam on to your brakes unless you have to avoid an accident plus if you see a traffic light ahead, best slow down instead of going fast and getting on your brakes hard.