Many people believe that driving their car slowly can help them to save fuel, and this is mostly true. Driving your Subaru Impreza slowly may not save you much fuel if you’re not driving at the optimum speed on that particular section of road. Driving to optimise your fuel consumption on the open highway will be different from driving in an urban setting. Let’s take a closer look at how you can save fuel by making some changes to your driving style.
The Basics of Driving Economically
If you’re driving your Impreza on the highway slowing down will save fuel. Driving at higher speeds forces the engine to work harder in order to overcome drag created by wind resistance and other factors. So, if you reduce your speed, you will use less power and reduce the amount of fuel that you need to overcome the drag. However, driving at a slower speed will increase the journey time, and this means that your engine will burn fuel for a longer period of time. So, it’s important to drive at an efficient speed; this is the sweet spot where drag and the travelling time have the least combined impact on the fuel economy.
Other Important Factors to Consider
The Subaru Impreza for sale here is designed to have a good aerodynamic profile to produce less drag by minimizing wind resistance. This isn’t unusual; every new car is tested extensively in wind tunnels and out on the road to reduce drag. However, different types of vehicles have a drag coefficient depending on their profile. As an example: an SUV is typically a boxy” design when compared to a sleek saloon, and thus it would have a higher drag coefficient. In this example, the SUV would be less fuel efficient at higher speeds than a saloon using the same engine and in with the same weight. So, in this case, the peak optimal fuel consumption speed would be slightly lower, and even the tyre choice could make a dramatic difference to that fuel efficient speed. Keep your tyres inflated to the correct pressures detailed in your Subaru owner’s manual; this will reduce tyre rolling resistance and help you to consume less fuel on your journey.
It would be difficult to work out the exact optimal speed for your car, but thankfully, you can drive more efficiently if you follow a few simple guidelines. Firstly, it’s always a good idea to drive in the highest gear possible and keep your revs below 1,500 rpm. If you have an automatic select the “eco” driving mode if you have one and check the lowest possible speed that the car will sit on in highest gear before it automatically shifts down. The sweet spot for fuel efficiency on most cars is 80km/h with a margin of 8km/h either way. So, if you drive anywhere between 72km/h to 88km/h your likely to be maintaining a good level of fuel efficiency.
If you’re interested in a Subaru Impreza in Perth, check out our latest hot deals at Perth City Subaru today.