Vauxhall Meriva Owner's Manual page 140

136 Drivin g and operatio n
O verrun
z The fuel supply is shut off automatically
on ov errun, e. g. when descending steep
hills or when b ra king 3 134.
z To enable the overrun cut-off to come
into action and sav e fuel, do not
accelerate or d eclutch during overrun.
Corr ect gear sel ec tion
z High revs increase engine w ear and fuel
consumption.
z Do not race your engine. Avoid d riv ing at
high engine speeds.
Making use of the tachom eter helps to
save fuel. Drive in a low engine speed
ra nge for each gear as much a s possible
with uniform engine speeds. Drive as
often as possible in top gear, select the
next higher gear a s soon as possible,
and only chang e down when the engine
is no longer running perfectly smoothly .
High speed
z The higher the speed , the higher the
consumption and the noise level. At top
speed, you consume a great deal of fuel
and produce excessive noise and
exhaust em issions.
z Slightly relea sing the accelerator ped al
results in distinct fuel savings with no
major loss of speed.
Drive at no more tha n around three
quarters of max imum speed and you will
use up to 50 % less fuel, without losing a
great deal of time.
Tyre pressure
z Inadequate ty re p ressure, leading to
higher road resistance, costs m oney in
two wa ys: for more fuel and increased
tyre wear.
z Regular checks (every 14 d ays) pay off.
Electri cal loa ds
z The power consum ption of electrical
equip ment increa ses fuel consumption.
z Sw itch off all aux iliary electrical loads
(e. g. air c onditioning 3, heated rear
window) when not needed.
Roof rack s, sk i-holders
z Due to air resistance, a roof load can
increase fuel consump tion by
approx . 3.5 gal./1000 miles (1l/100 km ).
z Remove them if they are not being used.
Repai r and m aintenance
z Improper repairs or adjustm ent and
maintenance work can increase fuel
consumption. Do not carry out w ork on
the eng ine yourself.
You may out of ignorance infringe
environmental law s b y not disposing of
materials properly.
Appropriate parts might not b e recycled.
Contact with some of the materia ls
inv olv ed may p ose a hea lth haz ard.
z We recom mend that repair and
maintenance be entrusted to your
Vauxhall Authorised Repairer.
Extr em e d riving conditions
z Going up steep slopes, cornering, driving
on poor road s a nd winter driving a ll
increase fuel consumption.
Fuel consumption increa ses dramatically
in urba n tra ffic a nd at winter
temperatures, especially on short trip s
when the engine operating tempera ture
is not reached.
z Follow the hints given above to keep
consumption to a m inimum under suc h
cond itions.