Many people think that after the first or second service of their new car, fuel consumption will magically improve. This is now a myth, because the fuel system in new generation cars is controlled by the ECM (Engine Control Module), not the carburetor. There is no wear and tear in ECMs. As a result, performance will always stay the same, unlike in older generation cars where you could manually adjust the carburetor for improved fuel consumption. In this article, I will go over my preferred method to check fuel consumption and also discuss the best ways to lower fuel consumption.

First, the best way to check fuel consumption: Whenever you go on a highway, fill the tank to its absolute maximum capacity. (By this, I mean till the neck. Even after the auto stop, the tank can take in another 10% of fuel). Then wait for a few seconds. If the tank is full and without bubbles, close the cap, zero the odometer, and drive for 100km. Now fill the tank till the neck, once again. Say you manage to fill in 10 litres. You can now divide the distance travelled by the fuel taken. In this case, 100km / 10 litres = 10km per litre of fuel. In a similar way, you can check fuel consumption in city traffic.

The actual fuel tank capacity of most cars is 10% more than the capacity listed by the manufacturer. Some people take advantage of this anomaly at fuel stations. I have personally witnessed one such incident, in which the customer was fighting with the fuel station employee over how it was possible that he filled 55 litres, when the tank capacity listed in the owner’s manual was 50 litres. In this situation, the fuel station employee must stand by his meter. However, sometimes, as in this case, they get scared and let the customer go for free.

If, after checking fuel consumption you are unsatisfied with the results, you may be tempted to go to the workshop for ‘adjustments’. Do not do this, because new generation cars do not have carburetors. It would be a waste of your time and fuel.

Similarly, don’t fight with sales people over low fuel consumption. They will tell you that the advertised fuel consumption is obtained only in desired conditions, i.e, continuously driving at 50 km/h in fifth gear. This, of course, is possible only on new highways. If you get low fuel consumption even in these conditions, it is simply down to inefficient driving. If you are confident that you are a good and experienced driver, then:

• Change the fuel station and check.
• Change bumper to bumper traffic route (perhaps not possible in cities?)
• Take routes which have fewer traffic signals. Every one minute that you leave your car idling, you are wasting approximately 25ml of fuel. Every forty minutes, you waste one litre. Now you can calculate how much fuel you may be wasting on a daily basis going to and from work.

It is my wish that more people take an interest in lowering their fuel consumption. I notice people boasting of how they’ve gone from Hyderabad to Bangalore in 5 hours, only for another to say he’s gone in 4.5 hours, before someone else claims he’s done the distance in 4 hours. One day I want to see people arguing over who got better fuel consumption. If this is how people start to think, maybe our grandchildren will also have fuel.