FUEL-SAVING TIPS FOR LONGER JOURNEYS - PUTTING A BRAKE ON MOTORING COSTS

On the motorway alone, as much as £20-25 can be clawed back from school holiday trips to the seaside, amusement parks, relatives and to other tourist destinations. Even motorists taking friends and family to airports can recover the cost of short-term parking from a round trip of 80 miles.

FIVE HOLIDAY FUEL-SAVING TIPS
Load luggage on your roof rack as low as possible. Wrapping the luggage in plastic sheeting improves fuel economy by two per cent. If you are staying in the same place, it is worth removing the roof rack before driving to beaches and tourist attractions but make sure you don't lose any of the bits.

Try your air vents before opening windows: you may find that the airflow is enough to keep two people comfortable in the front of the car, particularly on a motorway.

Don't use the air conditioning all the time: once the air conditioning has cooled the inside of the car, you may be able to turn it down or off.

If you are carrying extra passengers or heavy luggage, pump up the tyres to compensate for the extra weight. The car's handbook gives advice on this.

If you park in the sun, using a windscreen shade and opening up the car as soon as you get back to it, will help to cool the interior. Open windows while you drive out of a car park may lower the inside temperature several degrees before you start the air conditioning. Turn the air con setting to moderate.



TEN MORE GENERAL FUEL-SAVING SUGGESTIONS:

1. Shop around for your fuel. Prices can fluctuate quite significantly even in the same area.

2. Check you tyres - it's estimated that 50% of tyres on the road are under inflated which increases wear and wastes fuel. Worn tyres also reduce fuel efficiency so regularly check the tread gauge on all tyres.