Green Your Drive Without a Hybrid
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 08.29.07
Photo credit: ieatstars
Even if you don't have a Hybrid, a few simple tips are all you need to give your vehicle's fuel economy the boost it deserves, which isn't a bad idea considering that gas prices are spiraling upward again this summer.
Here are some of the top money- and planet-saving tricks, according to KBB.com:
1. Reduce your air conditioning
2. Change your filters at scheduled intervals
3. Check your tire pressure regularly
4. Use a fuel additive in each fill-up to increase engine performance
5. Get fuel injectors cleaned
"Gas prices have reached levels that are causing consumers to take steps they may not have when pump prices were more moderate to improve fuel economy and save a few dollars," said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book (KBB). "If these consumers actually perform all of these gas saving tips, it's likely they could save up to 15 or 20 percent of their entire fuel costs annually."
Only more than a quarter of consumers (26 percent) say they would employ all of these recommended fuel-saving tips to achieve greater fuel economy or save some gas money, according to a KBB Marketing Research study. A contrasting 5 percent, on the other hand, won't be doing a thing.
And if you are one of the 69 percent of new-vehicle consumers who plan to change the car they drive in order to improve your fuel economy or cash flow, KBB.com's editors have a list of their top picks for fuel-efficient vehicles below. ::Kelley Blue Book
|
Category |
Vehicle |
Kbb.com Editorial Staff Comments |
MPG* (city) |
MPG* (highway) |
|
Small Sedan |
Honda Civic Hybrid |
The Honda Civic Hybrid is the Prius alternative with more mainstream styling, if not all the fuel economy. |
40 |
45 |
|
Mid-Size Sedan |
Nissan Altima Hybrid |
Beneath its sporty-sedan sheet metal, Nissan's Altima Hybrid uses licensed Toyota hybrid technology. |
35 |
33 |
|
Luxury Sedan |
Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec |
Powered by a state-of-the-art clean diesel engine, the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec is as powerful and smooth as you'd expect anything wearing a three-pointed star to be. |
23 |
32 |
|
Compact Pickup |
Toyota Tacoma |
The Toyota Tacoma's bulletproof reputation for reliability is backed up by some of the category's best fuel economy. |
20 |
26 |
|
Full-Size Pickup |
Chevrolet Silverado |
GM's excellent new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are just about the most fuel-efficient full-size pickups out there. |
15 |
20 |
|
Coupe |
Audi TT |
The 2008 Audi TT deftly maximizes turbo power and efficiency in one fun and fuel-frugal coupe. |
23 |
31 |
|
Small SUV |
Ford Escape Hybrid |
Revamped for 2008, the Ford Escape Hybrid combines excellent mileage with SUV versatility. |
31 |
30 |
|
Mid-Size SUV |
Toyota Highlander Hybrid |
The Highlander Hybrid is Toyota's only hybrid SUV, and the only one to boast a lineage that includes the revolutionary Prius. |
28 |
25 |
|
Large SUV |
GMC Acadia |
With more total cargo volume than the brand's own Yukon, the three-row GMC Acadia delivers everything most families require from a traditional full-size SUV but with significantly better mileage. |
16 |
24 |
|
Convertible |
Mazda MX-5 |
Some of the same characteristics that make the small and lightweight Mazda MX-5 one of the purest driver's cars of all time help make it a joy at the gas pump, too. |
22 |
27 |
|
Minivan |
Honda Odyssey |
What some consider the best minivan available, the Honda Odyssey, also delivers the best mileage. Under light loads, the Odyssey can cruise on just three of its six cylinders. |
17 |
24 |
|
Hatchback |
MINI Cooper |
A secret weapon in the fight against fuel prices, the extremely fun MINI Cooper delivers highway mileage of up to 36 mpg. |
27 |
36 |
|
Wagon |
Toyota Matrix/ Pontiac Vibe |
The Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe cousins are small but tall wagons that have been delivering outstanding fuel economy since the 2003 model year. |
26 |
33 |
* (Note: All fuel economy figures reflect the new-for-2008 model year guidelines, per fueleconomy.gov).
Nice picture of the Lotus, which has to be the sweeetest small car in the world.
fuel additives? isnt it more generally known that those additives dont really do anything for your mpg? even if they do, is it worth the extra cost for the additive?
I doubt item number 1 will actually save any fuel. Mythbusters has shown that driving with windows down and lowers your MPG while driving with windows up gets better mileage. AC on or off had no effect on the windows up driving.
wouldn't some of the benefit be negated if you were buying a bottle of fuel additives for each tank? outside of the obvious costs are the production wastes of the company and the bottle for each tank. i also doubt the products are cleanly produced...
If you're an ardent enough green to read into the comments, you might as well fool around with turning your car into a DIY hybrid by turning your ignition off at long stop lights.
Natural Resources Canada has a good section on this (see "Idling: Myths Versus Reality"), and they say, "As a rule of thumb, if you're going to stop for 10 seconds or more – except in traffic – turn the engine off."
I've found it works great at long lights, but only during days, when it's not really hot, when I have some sense of when the light is going to change, and when I'm not too tired to forget the engine isn't running.
"1. Reduce your air conditioning"
Lately I've been putting my hand in front of the AC to make sure it's still working, it's on max and can barely cool the car down before I get to work. Yes, it works, it's just insanely hot!
Nice pic, but the whole article is sooo American!
The "tips" for example: Sorry to say, but I guess thats what we have done in Europe in the seventies!
And then its not only the terminology (e.g. "gas") but the measurements as well... nobody outside the US would calculate in miles per gallon. But the fact, that a mercedes is among the most fuel-efficient cars in the list and the most efficient one is a "pickup" is a clear sign that none of the cars is really what "we" would call fuel-efficient.
Please try to consider that you have a lot of readers from all around the world as well ;-)
From London, Mario
IMO, anything below 30 mpg should NOT be considered fuel efficient. Some of those listed are in the 15's for MPG... that's just sad.
Also, why is the honda civic hybrid listed but not Toyota Prius? 40/45 versus a Prius's 60/51 mpg... hmmmmm
I wonder why toyota prius is not included in the list.
I wonder why toyota prius is not included in the list.
i wonder why toyota prius with kleen wheels performance parts is not included in the list. and also
Actually, kirk, i do believe turning off/ lowering your ac does save gas. when your ac is on, the engine is running harder to pump cold air through your air vents... which burns more fuel
Susan, lowering the AC makes no difference. The Ac compressor runs on a fixed cycle as long as its turned on, the engine doesn't have to work any harder or easier. Its simply a heat pump similar to the one inside your house, but if you scaled your car a/c up to a house ac you would find its 10 time the size needed, because your car a/c has to cool down a very hot car in a short amount of time it has to be much larger that the interrior volume of the car would require. basically when you turn on the A/c the compressor part is running max all the time, the temp selector and fan speed selector only move a blend door or vary the speed of a small electric fan, the compressor cycle is constant.
Now some of the newer cars with the digital thermostat will shut the a/c off when the temperature is reached but the actual duty cycle of the compressor stays constant because the pressure of the refregerant needs to be within a cerian range and is controlled by a high and low pressure switch in the lines.
If you're tooling down the highway then yes, opening your windows all the way will probably cause enough additional drag so that you may equal or exceed the fuel needed to run the A/C compressor. However, around town may be a different stroy and may actually save fuel vs. A/C. When I drive down the highway I don't use A/C and crack my windows. I've tried it both ways and it actually saves gas cracking the windows though it is a little hot.
No, I don't think fuel additives are worth the money unless you have an older engine. Perhaps they may help unclog injectors (or carborater jets if its really old) and clean dirty valves helping them close better allowing your engine to run a little more efficiently. Just have to be careful they don't poison the catalytic convertor.
Last I knew 15 was lower than a number in the 20's or 30's so no, the pickup isn't the most fuel efficient vehicle listed above? And the Mercedes has a rather well designed diesel engine so yes it is actually rather fuel efficient. And yes, we Americans do still use the old system from time to time so get over yourself!
In summer, always leave the doors of my car open for five minutes before I start the engine. It's requires a little more plan ahaed, but the AC has a much easier time of cooling the car down. This also gives me time to walk around the car and check that signal lights are working, etc.
Fuel additives do nothing. If you need higher octane, buy higher octane. Your owners manual will specify what's best for your car and you should do what they say is best.
No mention of my beloved VW Jetta TDI, which the internal compuer says gets around 40MPG based on my driving.
No mention of my beloved VW Jetta TDI, which the internal compuer says gets around 40MPG based on my driving.
Yeah, that's a great car. So dirty they had to stop selling them. A real treehugger's ride there.
I heard recently that there's a higher environmental impact from manufacturing hybrids than there is from buying a fuel-efficient car and operating it for several years. I haven't been able to find any info to substantiate that, though. Has anyone else?
I heard recently that there's a higher environmental impact from manufacturing hybrids than there is from buying a fuel-efficient car and operating it for several years. I haven't been able to find any info to substantiate that, though. Has anyone else?
I saw that, too! I heard about it from a website which also told me that it's better for the environment to drive than walk, that windmills kill all the world's birds, that hybrids run over blind people, and that coal is clean.
Do an Internet search and I'm sure you'll find this reputable source.