Eco driving can cut your fuel consumption by 4-10 percent (or even more). A normal car driver can save SEK 500, 1000, 1,500 or more a year in fuel costs (SEK 9 is close to Euro 1).
Eco driving means you are driving your car more efficiently without losing any time. It is based on anticipating road conditions and avoiding heavy braking. Simply remember to follow the nine steps below.

1. Anticipate road conditions – avoid braking
Anticipate road conditions and so avoid heavy braking. Keep your distance to the car in front. Roll* towards junctions and traffic lights. Plan your route to avoid stops and congestion.
* ease your foot off the accelerator, but do not put the car into neutral.
When trying to save fuel, it is important to stop as little as possible and maintain an even speed. Try to anticipate what is happening on the road ahead as far forward as possible.
•  Keep your distance to the car in front so you do not have to jerk to a halt in queuing traffic.
•  Slow down in good time when approaching a road junction where cars are waiting. You might avoid having to stop at all.
•  Adapt your speed to other traffic when approaching a roundabout so you can avoid stopping if possible.
•  Use different lanes to maintain an even speed, but avoid lane weaving.
•  Adapt your speed to traffic lights so you avoid stopping if possible.
•  Use engine braking when adapting your speed ahead of junctions, roundabouts traffic lights.
You can also make big savings by planning your route and time of journey. Avoid taking routes with plenty of stops. Better a slightly longer route with fewer stops.
Avoid rush hour traffic whereever possible.

2. Change up early and drive in the highest gear possible
Change into second gear after a couple of car lengths. Change from 2nd into 4th or from 3rd into 5th. Depress the accelerator pedal about halfway. Change up before 3,000 rpm.
Drive in the highest gear possible. Most cars can be driven in 5th gear at 50 kmph on level roads. Change from 2nd to 4th or from 3rd to 5th gear on favourable slopes. The higher the gear, the less fuel the car uses. Acceleration costs fuel which is why it is important to reach your cruising speed and top gear as quickly as possible.
It is important however not to exceed 3,000 rpm and you should not press the accelerator down more than halfway. Otherwise the catalyser could be bypassed and increase emissions of substances hazardous to health and the environmental such as hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.

3. Drive smoothly avoiding sharp acceleration & stick to speed limits
Maintain as even a pressure as possible on the accelerator. This is easier if you keep a proper distance to the car in front. Stick to the speed limit.
Driving smoothly saves fuel. Changes in speed cost money. The faster you drive, the greater the rise in fuel consumption when you further accelerate.
•  Reducing your speed from 110 to 100 kmph cuts fuel consumption by 10 percent.
•  Reducing your speed from 100 to 90 kmph cuts fuel consumption by a further 10 percent.
You lose relatively little time. A 100 km journey at 110 kmph takes 55 minutes, while the same journey at 90 kmph takes 67 minutes. And in practice, maintaining a speed of 110 kmph for 100 km is only possible on very lightly trafficked motorways. Lower speeds also mean less tyre wear and less noise.

4. Use engine braking
Use engine braking rather than the footbrake wherever possible. Ease off the accelerator in good time and then lift your foot off altogether. Change down before the rev count drops to 1200-1300 rpm.
Braking always wastes energy. Using the engine to brake saves fuel as the fuel supply is totally shut off. When you take your foot off the accelerator altogether and the rev count is 1,500-1,600 rpm no fuel is fed to the engine. At 1,200-1,300 rpm the engine starts consuming fuel again. You should therefore change down just before you reach this rev count and so maintain zero consumption. You can repeat this change down. If you start using the engine to brake in good time you will not need to use the footbrake at all.
When you take your foot off the gas the engine noise drops. You can then easily get the feeling you are going very slowly. Check the speedometer so you know what speed you are actually doing.

5. Do not idle the engine
Running the engine in idle can cost you SEK 1,000 unnecessarily, you will be giving off hazardous emissions and in many local authorities, idling for more than 1 minute is illegal. If you need to scrape the windows do before start the engine. You only get proper heat when you have started driving.
Exhaust gases are at their most toxic when the engine is cold. Avoid idling as much as possible and especially when the engine is cold. The catalyser cannot filter all the particles and carcinogenic substances that are given off. Make sure there are no children near even if the cars are all stopped. Children are more sensitive and as they are not as big, they are closer to exhaust pipes. Reverse into the parking space when the engine is warm so you can drive straight out when it is cold. This reduces fuel consumption.

6. Ease off downhill, even accelerator uphill
Let the car cruise with sufficient power downhill without using the accelerator. Try to gain speed before starting uphill so you can use a high gear on the incline. Do not increase pedal pressure on the way up. Avoid accelerating going uphill. Try to utilise speed picked up from the previous downward slope.
On downward slopes you can take your foot off the accelerator if the slope is steep enough. Remember to take your foot off the accelerator pedal altogether, your fuel consumption will then drop to zero. If an uphill stretch follows a downhill stretch, try to use the speed you picked up from the downward slope. If you have enough speed before starting uphill you can put the car in a high gear which saves fuel. Keeping the accelerator under even pressure instead of accelerating uphill saves more fuel.

7. Use an engine pre-heater
Plug in an engine pre-heater for 90 minutes when the temperature is below –15°, 60 minutes up to 0° and for twenty minutes up to +10°. Timers are useful here.
Starting from cold means increased fuel consumption and more exhaust emissions. Engine warmers can save up to 10 cl of fuel per journey. On a 6 km journey, using an engine warmer will reduce emissions by 50-80 percent. However, leaving it plugged in longer than the times recommended above is an unnecessary waste of energy.

8. Have the car serviced regularly
Service your car in accordance with the owner handbook. Change oil and filters as recommended. Make sure the engine is clean. Check tyre pressures at least every other time you fill the car with fuel. Inflating tyres 10-15 percent about the recommended tyre pressure reduces rolling resistance without compromising road safety.
The correct tyre pressure (see owner handbook) can cut fuel consumption by 3-5 percent. Your tyres will also last longer and the car will drive better. 70 percent inflated tyres can halve the lifespan of the tyres. Too low pressure is also a risk to road safety.
Regular engine services can reduce fuel consumption by 5-10 percent. Make sure the engine is clean. Salt and dirt deposits can cause ignition system flashover that can cause catalyser and other damage. Service your car as recommended. Change oil and filters as recommended. An old blocked filter can result in unnecessarily heavy fuel consumption. If you drive on gravel roads often you may need to change the air filter more regularly than normal.

9. Remove roof boxes etc when not in use
Remove roof boxes and roof racks when you are not using them. Clear the boot space of things you do not need to drive around with.
Roof boxes and roof racks create unnecessary resistance. Roof boxes can increase fuel consumption by over 1cl per kilometre. The heavier the vehicle the more fuel it uses too. It can therefore be worth removing unnecessary items from the car.