6 ways to increase fuel economy

Gas prices are constantly climbing and while you’re earning a few extra reward points at the pump, it’s still costing you more than it did a few months ago.
Here are six ways to increase your fuel economy to maximize every liter of gas or ounce of electricity:

Properly Inflated Tires
Check your tire pressure once a week as the PSI can fluctuate. Under inflated tires increase rolling resistance and your vehicle uses more fuel/electricity to be kept in motion.

Plan your route
Several short trips decrease fuel economy so take a few minutes, organize your day and routes and try and get all your short-trip driving done in one circuit. If you’re list includes the hardware store, drug store, music shop and grocery store, hit up the grocery store last so your cold/cool items spend as little time in the car as possible.

Avoid extra weight
From a few boxes of old clothes/items destined for donation to the “I’ll remove that box of whatever” next time, unnecessary weight will increase how much fuel you use.

Drive smoothly
Primarily for highways, find the speed that traffic is moving at and stay in that zone. Hammering down on the gas pedal to weave through traffic is stupidly dangerous and wastes fuel. Use the cruise control when you can as the constant speed reduces gas consumption.

Drive sensibly
Full throttle from a dead stop just to be the first at the next red light is a massive waste of fuel. You don’t have to crawl “off the line” but there’s a sensible balance to be had.  The same applies for slamming your brakes when slowing down.
For the manual drivers, don’t be wasteful and rev your RPM’s higher than necessary; shift to what the manufacturer suggests or close to.
Electric/hybrid drivers; see my first point about gunning it off the line as your battery life will deplete faster than expected and with electricity prices being high, consider maximizing every dollar spent charging your car.

Avoid idling
If you’re stuck at a long light, turn your car off to save fuel. Several new cars have an auto start/stop feature to save fuel and if you’re car doesn’t, it’s worth it to shut off your engine instead of wasting fuel by idling.