Teaching better drive strategy for fuel efficiency.
Many of us never realize the technology that has been added to many modern cars for us to save on fuel when driving. Some car manufacturers from way back some 15 years or so had already seen the need to provide a ‘guide’ to drivers to save fuel, especially with cars using automatic gearboxes.
The installation of little computer behind the dashboard that is able to quickly work out average fuel consumption and lets the driver know if fuel is being saved or not with a light indicator on the dashboard is all that it needed. This simple feature helps drivers develop driving habits that betters their fuel efficiency.
We are talking about Eco Assist. Or Eco Pro or just plain old ECO.
ECO driving is the most overlooked driving action that could also return significant CO2 savings all just by changing current driving styles. To change from an ‘‘aggressive’’ driving style to a more refined style.
Even with almost all new cars, from the most basic to the sports sedans being equipped with this function, drivers understanding of the nature of eco-driving is not easy with old driving habits.
What about a car with a manual gearbox? The best way to benefit from eco-driving involves such things as accelerating moderately (with shift ups between 2,000 and 2,500 revolutions for those with manual transmissions), anticipating traffic flow and signals, thereby avoiding sudden starts and stops; maintaining an even driving pace (using cruise control on the highway where appropriate), driving at or safely below the speed limit; and eliminating excessive idling.
The European car brands were early in including ECO driving software in their range to assist in saving fuel and keeping emissions low to stay within tough European emission targets. In 2013 BMW already had ECO PRO in their cars and soon after Mercedes-Benz ECO Assist had been installed in all their models, including the S-Class for low fuel sipping possibility.
Honda has the ECON mode with their cars. Hondas are known for their good fuel economy, but if you want to take it one step further, consider pressing the ECON button. With one press your vehicle switches into a super efficient mode that does everything it can to maximize fuel efficiency.
Just like Honda, Toyota already delivers fuel saving cars and with Toyota’s Eco Drive in use the vehicle automatically reduces throttle response and adjusts the air conditioning so that it doesn’t drain the engine power as much. Both of these things work together to improve fuel efficiency. Then, the Eco Drive Indicator can be turned on by pressing the Display button.
So, with many new cars today having ECO mode in various forms, if you have this feature, are you using it to save fuel? Are you worried about emissions?
