How to Drive Your Mercedes Efficiently

When purchasing a luxury car one of the considerations for many people is the fuel efficiency and how to drive the car without burning a hole in your wallet from all of the fuel consumption. This, coupled with environmental considerations often leads drivers of luxury cars to search for ways to drive more efficiently.

Mercedes works to help drivers who want to improve their driving efficiency, even providing specialist training on this subject. There are many ways to help improve efficiency, saving fuel, money and the environment at the same time. Here are some key tips for driving your Mercedes more efficiently.

If you’re looking for a used Mercedes, talk to specialists like those at Big Motoring World and ask for advice on driving efficiently.

The main factor which has an impact on the efficiency of your car is actually the way you drive it. While there are other factors such as the engine and aerodynamics which have an impact, it’s the driver’s behaviour which has the biggest impact.

Driving elements including travelling at a steady speed, using moderate acceleration, anticipating braking all help to lower the consumption of fuel and subsequently lowers emissions.

The use of the car heating system, air conditioning and other functions can also impact on the efficiency of the car.

Having low tyres and carrying weight such as passengers or luggage will impede the car’s efficiency as they will cause it to require more power to accelerate and maintain a steady speed, meaning it will use up more fuel. Make sure you always check your tyres and only carry extra weight when necessary.

If you are not using your luggage rack or bicycle rack, take them off the car before setting out on a journey as they are added weight and also not aerodynamic, meaning they will have a negative impact on the car efficiency.

It is all too easy to leave things in the boot of the car all the time, even when they are not in use, like a pushchair, or picnic basket, or things which might come in handy some time, however, all of this extra weight adds to your car’s inefficiency so it’s worth clearing out your boot to improve your car performance.

The way you drive the car every day also has a big impact on efficiency. The best choice for your car is to be continually driving in a high gear with a low engine speed. This is the optimum approach to driving, compared with frequent changes of gear, strong and regular braking and acceleration – the start-stop style of driving – which is very inefficient and uses up fuel quickly.

Of course, it’s not always possible to control the type of driving due to the traffic situation you find yourself in, however, even in a traffic jam or slow-moving city traffic, anticipating traffic movement and maintaining a smooth, steady driving speed rather than continuously stopping and starting, will make a big difference in your Mercedes efficiency levels.

As well as keeping your tyres well-inflated, the type of tyres you use for your Mercedes can have an impact on the car efficiency. Tyres have varied levels of resistance and the higher the resistance level, the more power and energy is required to drive the car. Make sure you are using the most appropriate tyres for your particular model of car and driving style.

Keeping your Mercedes well-maintained and looked after will help to ensure fuel is flowing and being used efficiently. Faulty sensors and dirty filters can all have a negative impact on the fuel efficiency of your Mercedes.

Make sure you take your car in regularly for routine maintenance and checks – if you have trouble remembering when it needs to go in there are apps from Mercedes which tell you when various car maintenance treatments are required.

Sitting in traffic with the engine running, but the car not moving, really gobbles up the fuel, not to mention damaging the environment around the car. Fortunately, many Mercedes now come with a feature which allows the engine to switch off when the car is idling, which helps to improve fuel efficiency. The stop-start switch automatically turns off the engine when the car is still, starting it up again when it is time to pull off.

Another way to make sure the fuel isn’t costing too much is to shop around for fuel itself and make sure you are not paying over the odds at the pump. It might only save a little but it can make a difference over time.

Making some simple changes to your driving habits and ensuring your car is regularly maintained and looked after, can all have a big impact on the way your Mercedes works and the amount of fuel you have to put into it on a daily basis. Ensuring your car is not carrying any extra weight, has pumped up tyres and is driven steadily will help to go some way to making it a more efficient driving experience.

*Contributed by James Burke. Photos via Pexels

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