The constant fuel price increases are leaving a bad taste in motorists’ mouths, and a big hole in their pockets. The fuel price has had some dips in recent months, however, it is still not close to being below the R20 per liter mark.
Unfortunately, South Africa is one of the countries that is experiencing some of the steepest fuel increases, and even though there are features, such as eco-mode, that assist in saving fuel usage, for this to be effective it needs to be used correctly. If you do not use these features in the way they are intended to be used, you risk using more fuel.
Let’s focus on cruise control. This feature was designed to assist in boosting fuel economy, however, this is only true when driving on a constant and flat surface. Using cruise control on a hill is not effective as the system is much slower when it comes to appropriately reacting to changes in gradient.
You should not even think about using cruise control when in heavy traffic, as there is lots of room for error. Using this feature in traffic would include constant adjusting, stopping, and restarting, which in essence would not allow them to get the most out of their tank.
If used correctly, cruise control is said to reduce up to 20% of total fuel usage, which is a considerable number! To see this result, you would need to be able to drive at a constant speed for a long period of time, without adjustments.
On the other hand, ACC (Adjustable Cruise Control) can automatically adapt to and manage safe following distances for you, resulting in fuel saving without human intervention. With all this being said, it is possible to reduce your fuel spend by making use of cruise control in the appropriate driving conditions.
You should never choose cruise control over your own safety, therefore you should not opt for using this feature in wet and rainy conditions, as your reflexes and reactions will be much faster, safer, and much more reliable than this technology.
This article was originally published on:
https://motorpress.co.za/articles/does-cruise-control-save-fuel
