Economical Driving; Driving With A Trailer - Volvo V40 Owner's Manual

Economical driving

Driving economically means driving smoothly
while thinking ahead and adjusting your driv-
ing style and speed to the prevailing condi-
tions.
•
Avoid driving with open windows.
•
Do not use winter tyres when the winter
season is over.
•
Avoid sudden unnecessary acceleration
and heavy braking.
•
Drive with the correct air pressure in the
tyres and check it regularly - select ECO
tyre pressure for best results, see Tyres -
approved tyre pressures (p. 456).
•
Drive in the highest gear possible, adap-
ted to the current traffic situation and
road - lower engine speeds result in lower
fuel consumption. Use the gear shift indi-
14
cator (p. 272) .
•
Remove unnecessary items from the car -
the greater the load the higher the fuel
consumption.
•
Use engine braking to slow down, when it
can take place without risk to other road
users.
•
Choice of tyres can affect fuel consump-
tion - seek advice on suitable tyres from a
dealer.
•
A roof load and ski box increase air resis-
tance, leading to higher fuel consumption
Manual gearbox
14
- remove the load carriers when not in
use.
•
Do not run the engine to operating tem-
perature at idling speed, but rather drive
with a light load as soon as possible - a
cold engine consumes more fuel than a
warm one.
•
High speed results in increased fuel con-
sumption - the wind resistance increases
with speed.
For more information, see Volvo Cars' envi-
ronmental philosophy (p. 20) and Fuel con-
sumption and CO2 emissions (p. 452).
WARNING
Never switch off the engine while moving,
such as downhill, this deactivates impor-
tant systems such as the power steering
and brake servo.
08 Starting and driving

Driving with a trailer

When driving with a trailer there are a number
of important points to think about regarding
e.g. the towing bracket, the trailer and how
the load is positioned in the trailer.
Payload depends on the car's kerb weight.
The total of the weight of the passengers and
all accessories, e.g. towbar, reduces the car's
payload by corresponding weights (p. 440).
If the towing bracket is mounted by Volvo,
then the car is delivered with the necessary
equipment for driving with a trailer.
•
The car's towing bracket must be of an
approved type.
•
If the towbar is retrofitted, check with
your Volvo dealer that the car is fully
equipped for driving with a trailer.
•
Distribute the load on the trailer so that
the weight on the towing bracket com-
plies with the specified maximum towball
load.
•
Increase the tyre pressure to the recom-
mended air pressure (p. 321) for a full
load.
•
The engine is loaded more heavily than
usual when driving with a trailer.
•
Do not tow a heavy trailer when the car is
brand new. Wait until it has been driven
at least 1000 km.
08
299