Empty or full tank: which saves more fuel?
Tricks like topping up with the bare minimum of fuel don’t save money in the long run
With the price of petrol and diesel in Spain as high as they are, everyone wants to make an effort to conserve fuel. Some prefer to go to the new low-cost filling stations and other try to fill up jerry cans and containers with petrol before prices rise further.
There are many fallacies surrounding reducing fuel consumption, and while most of the tips and tricks simply don’t work, a few can even cause damage to your vehicle. One of the recommendations drivers often follow is to top up petrol and diesel just enough so that the fuel warning light stays off, under the misguided belief that this will save a few cent.
However, the experts at Toyota claim that the opposite is actually true: we should fill our tanks to the maximum and never let the reserve light come on.
Why should we fill our tanks?
Many motorists believe that a car will a full tank of fuel will be heavier and thus will burn more petrol or diesel. While those in the know do indeed recommend emptying the car’s boot to reduce weight and make it more efficient, the miniscule amount of money saved by driving with less fuel is far outweighed by the negatives.
Firstly, the emptier a car’s fuel tank is, the easier it is for what’s left to evaporate, so that drivers will likely find themselves running on fumes far quicker.
Secondly, according to Toyota, refuelling in small amounts and ‘playing’ with the fuel to try and save a few euros can, over time, cause the petrol gauge to not update, which may affect the mechanics of the car in the long run.
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Image: Wikimedia Commons
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