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driving type. The following section gives you
some tips on lessening the impact on the envi-
ronment and reducing your operating costs at
the same time.
Active cylinder management (ACT®)
Depending on vehicle equipment, the active
cylinder management (ACT®) may deactivate
some of the engine cylinders if the driving sit-
uation does not require too much power. The
number of active cylinders can be seen on the
›››
instrument panel display
page 16.
Foresight when driving
If you think ahead when driving, you will need
to brake less and thus accelerate less. Take ad-
vantage of the inertia of the vehicle whenever
possible, with a gear engaged. This takes ad-
vantage of the engine braking effect, reducing
wear on the brakes and tyres. Emissions and
fuel consumption will drop to zero.
Changing gear to save energy
An effective way of saving is to change in ad-
vance to a higher gear.
Manual gearbox: change from first to second
gear as soon as possible. Choosing the correct
gear saves fuel. Select the highest possible
gear suitable for the driving situation (the en-
gine should continue to run with cyclical regu-
larity).
Driving indications
Driving
Automatic transmission: accelerate gradually
and without reaching the "kick-down" posi-
tion.
Avoid driving at high speed
Avoid travelling at your vehicle's top speed,
whenever possible. Fuel consumption, emis-
sion of harmful gases and noise pollution mul-
tiply as speed is increased. Driving at moderate
speeds will help to save fuel.
Reduce idling time
In vehicles with the Start-Stop system idling is
automatically reduced. In vehicles without the
Start-Stop system it is worth switching off the
engine, for example, at level crossings and at
traffic lights that remain red for long periods of
time. When an engine has reached operating
temperature, and depending on the cylinder
capacity, keeping it switched off for a minimum
of about 5 seconds already saves more than
the amount of fuel necessary for restarting.
The engine takes a long time to warm up when
it is idling. Mechanical wear and pollutant emis-
sions are also especially high during this initial
warm-up phase. It is therefore best to drive
off immediately after starting the engine. Avoid
running the engine at high speed.
Regular maintenance
Regular servicing helps in saving fuel even be-
fore the engine is started. A well-serviced en-
gine gives you the benefit of improved fuel
efficiency as well as maximum reliability and
an enhanced resale value. A badly serviced en-
gine can consume up to 10% more fuel than
necessary.
Avoid short journeys
The engine and catalytic converter need to
reach their optimal operating temperature in
order to minimise fuel consumption and emis-
sions.
A cold engine consumes a disproportionate
amount of fuel. The engine reaches its working
temperature after about four kilometres (2.5
miles), when fuel consumption will return to a
normal level.
Check tyre pressure
Always make sure the tyres are inflated to the
›››
correct pressures
page 337
to save fuel.
If the pressure is below half bar, fuel consump-
tion may increase by 5%. Due to the greater
rolling resistance, under-inflation also increa-
ses tyre wear and impairs handling.
Do not use winter tyres all year round as they
increase fuel consumption by up to 10%.
Avoid carrying unnecessary loads
Given that every kilo of extra weight will in-
crease the fuel consumption, it is advisable
make sure that no unnecessary loads are being
transported.
145
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