5 tips to make your fuel tank last longer while petrol, diesel prices soar

If you do have to drive, try to minimize your total travel distance. One way would be to combine a number of errands into your journey and optimize your route. The specific vehicle you use also matters. As a general rule of thumb, the larger and heavier your car, the more energy and fuel it will require per kilometre. Choosing a smaller car, rather than a large SUV, will definitely reduce your fuel bill. A large SUV will use almost twice as much fuel per kilometre as a small car.

Research also suggests that for every 100kg increase in vehicle weight, fuel consumption increases by about 5 percent to 7 percent for a medium-sized car. So in addition to driving a smaller car, it's best to reduce your load and avoid driving around with extra weight.

The way you drive is important too. Eco-driving involves being conscious of your fuel consumption and taking actions to reduce it.  Every time you brake and stop, you have to accelerate again to reach your desired speed. Acceleration uses a lot of energy and fuel, so driving smoothly, anticipating traffic and preventing stops will lead to savings on your fuel bill. What you want to do is flow with the traffic and keep your distance from other vehicles. It also helps to keep an eye further up the road, so you can avoid obstacles and therefore unnecessary braking and acceleration.

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If you're in the minority of people who own a manual vehicle, drive in the highest gear possible to reduce engine load and fuel use. And if you're in an automatic vehicle, use the eco setting if you have one.

Another simple tip is stop unnecessary idling with the engine still engaged. A small car typically uses one litre of fuel per hour while idling, whereas this is close to two litres per hour for a large SUV.

Of course, we idle regularly while waiting in traffic and generally can't do much about that, other than trying to drive outside peak hours when roads are less congested. In other cases, we can change things. For instance, idling when a vehicle is parked will use up fuel unnecessarily.

Most people may not realize this, but using your air conditioner can use up quite a bit of extra fuel: somewhere between 4 percent and 8 percent of total fuel use. Using the fan instead will require less energy than air conditioning. Or even better, wind down the windows for a bit for fresh air.

It also pays to keep your tires inflated, which can save you between 2 percent and 4 percent in fuel use. Also, your car is designed to be aerodynamically efficient. Anything that changes that, including roof racks, bull bars and bike racks, will come with an additional fuel penalty particularly at higher speeds, such as on the freeway.

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