5 ways to make your car more eco-friendly

By 2040, the UK government aim to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars in order to cut down emissions and tackle climate change. However, you don’t need to wait to make your current car more eco-friendly. We’ve got five ways you can make your car greener.

Use your air conditioning smartly

On a hot summer’s day it can be more than tempting to turn on your air conditioning, as it offers instant relief to a stuffy car. However, your air conditioning makes your car work harder and in turn makes it consume more fuel. If you’re driving at lower speeds, your car will perform better with the windows down rather than the air conditioning on. If you are driving at higher speeds, like on the motorway, it might be better to use the air conditioning – having the windows down will increase drag, again using more fuel.

Pump up the tyres

If your tyres are under-inflated, they won’t roll as smoothly as they would if they were fully pumped. This means that your car has to work harder to get to the correct speed. Generally, there will be a sticker on the driver’s door to tell you what your tyre pressure should be, so check your tyres regularly.

Empty your boot

Your boot can easily become a dumping ground, but the weight of it will affect your fuel consumption. Don’t be tempted to store things in the boot just in case you need them; your windscreen wash, for example, can be stored in one of your cupboards until you need it. Only carry what you need for that trip to make sure your car is running at its best.

Get your car serviced

Servicing might seem like an extra expense, but it’ll save you money in the long run. Driving a car that isn’t at its healthiest means that it’ll be producing more emissions and have a higher fuel consumption. Get it checked and fixed up regularly to make your car more efficient and avoid costly repairs later down the line.

Use your sat-nav

When you’ve spent years on the road, you learn your routes like muscle memory. However, a route that gets you where you need to be in ten minutes might take twice as long if you go during rush hour. There might be a quicker route you can take, so even if you know the journey its worth putting it into your sat-nav to see if you can get there a different way. This will save you not only on time but on carbon emissions.