Tips for driving green with your car rental

Driving green is something of a buzz phrase these days and for good reason.

Not only will you be helping out the environment by going green with your driving habits, it can seriously reduce your running costs.

So whether you're taking your private vehicle out for a spin at home or picking up a rental car, remember some of these simple tips and you'll be making a difference in no time.

Weight

Start by thinking about how much you're lugging around with you. No, not your passengers - this could mean that stack of magazines you've been meaning to pass on to a friend, the bag of clothes you've been meaning to donate or other general messes.

For every additional 50kg of weight in your vehicle, your petrol bill goes up by two per cent.

If you don't need it, take it out.

No unnecessary foot movements

Unnecessary acceleration followed by heavy braking is bad for your car and your petrol bill.

Smooth driving habits can save you up to a whopping 20 per cent at the pump, so follow at a good distance behind the car in front of you and keep an eye on what's happening on the road ahead of you to prevent these sudden movements.

Keep to the limit

While you should be driving at a safe speed regardless, here's another reason to stick to the speed limit - it will save you a very convincing amount on your petrol bill.

Dropping your speeds from 110km an hour to 90km an hour will save you around 25 per cent on fuel.

Be air-conditioning wise

Air conditioning was a luxury when it was invented and it should still be a luxury now, so switch it off unless it's really necessary.

The rule is, if you're travelling up to 80km an hour, you can put the windows down for fresh air, and for anything over that, the air conditioning actually uses less petrol as open windows cause drag, so you'd have to use more fuel to get the car going faster.

DriveNow Team

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