Where you really save money when driving

There are plenty of money-saving tips online, and most are true. What is rarely mentioned, however, is how much they actually save you. That makes a significant difference: one piece of advice might save you a few euros a year, while another could save you hundreds.

Below are three things that make a measurable difference, ranked by the savings they generate.

1. Where you refuel — up to €800 per year

The price difference between the cheapest and most expensive gas station in the Netherlands can exceed forty cents per liter. Same fuel, same day.

If you fill up forty liters a week, that amounts to about €16 per fill-up. Over the course of a year, that’s over eight hundred euros—more than all the other tips on this page combined.

You don’t need to go out of your way to achieve this. It’s simply a matter of choosing a station that is already on your route, rather than the one where you always stop out of habit.

Two things that help:

• Don’t refuel right before hitting the highway. Highway stations stick most closely to the recommended retail price and are consistently more expensive.
• Don’t wait until you’re running on fumes. If you drive on the last few liters, you end up refueling wherever you happen to be. That is precisely the moment when you no longer have a choice.

2. Tire pressure — €60 to €120 per year

Under-inflated tires increase rolling resistance. With a pressure deficit of 0.5 bar, fuel consumption rises by about three percent; at 1 bar, that figure climbs to five percent.

Based on a fuel consumption of 6.5 liters per 100 km and an annual mileage of 15,000 km, five percent amounts to nearly fifty liters. At current prices, that’s over one hundred euros—for something you can check in two minutes once a month.

An added benefit: properly inflated tires wear more evenly and last longer. The correct pressure is listed on a sticker in the door jamb or inside the fuel filler flap, and the recommended pressure differs for a fully loaded car.

3. Driving style — €100 to €200 per year

Accelerating gently, shifting up early, and anticipating traffic rather than braking hard can reduce fuel consumption by five to ten percent. It’s not about driving slowly, but about driving smoothly.

What yields the biggest savings:

• Highway speed. Dropping from 130 km/h to 110 km/h saves about ten percent—air resistance increases with the square of the speed.
• Avoid idling. Stopped for more than a minute? Turn off the engine.
• Weight and roof racks. An empty roof box left on the car all summer can increase fuel consumption by up to five percent.

What yields less than expected

Turning off the AC. It costs only a few percent at most, and driving with the windows open on the highway often results in higher fuel costs due to air resistance than using the air conditioning does.

Eco mode. This mainly makes a difference in city traffic. At a constant speed, the difference is negligible.

Tank size (full vs. partial). A full tank weighs more, but the difference amounts to just a fraction of a percent. It’s not worth the effort of trying to optimize this. ## Maintenance: not a saving, but an insurance policy

Lights, windshield wipers, brake pads, and timely servicing don’t make your car more fuel-efficient. They do, however, prevent a minor issue from turning into an expensive repair.

Don’t count this as a saving—count it as the reason you’ll still be able to apply the three points above next year.

The calculation

Choosing where to refuel wisely

€ 400 – 800

Proper tire pressure

€ 60 – 120

A calmer driving style

€ 100 – 200

Based on 15,000 km per year and fuel consumption of 6.5 L/100 km. If you drive more, the figures scale accordingly.

The first point yields the biggest return and requires the least effort. You don’t need to change anything about your car or your driving style—you just need to know the price of a liter today at the stations you pass anyway.