The automotive market in India has been termed as unique by experts the world over. Take fuel choices for instance. Indians have long shown a strong affinity towards diesel powered cars, thanks to the supportive fuel-pricing policies as well. Also, with growing technological advancements in engine construction, diesels have become a lot more fuel efficient than before. But extracting the most out of things comes easy to us & so, here are a few tips to drive the diesel car economically.
Cut the aggression: While applicable to petrol cars too, avoiding aggressive driving habits is one of the top diesel cars driving tips. This only ends up burning excess fuel, without adding much to the speed or the time savings. Calm & smooth is the way to go here.
Understand the engine characteristics: A diesel engine develops power, lower down the rev range & typically have a low top-rev limit too. But they do have one ace up their sleeve & that’s the torque. Capacity for capacity, a diesel engine will be more torquier than its petrol counterpart. So understand the engine characteristics.
Know your torque: So now that you know that a diesel engine puts out more torque, you’ve got to master the art of riding along it. Staying in the right gear which puts you in the meat of the torque curve is one of the most important diesel cars driving tips to maximise driving pleasure, not to mention the higher fuel average you’d be getting.
Get the gear-shifts right: Unlike a petrol car that can hold on to higher revs, a diesel will quickly run out of steam. The key then is to shift up at the right time. Late gear shifts will simply burn more fuel, while too early a gear shift & you’ll find yourself lugging the engine, waiting for it to come into the powerband.
Use the turbo: The significant majority of diesel engines today are of the turbocharged type and one of the tips to drive the diesel car economically is to learn how to use the turbo, to extract better performance & in turn, better fuel economy.
Driving a diesel car isn’t as difficult as it once used to be. What’s more, with advancements in technology, they have narrowed down the gap in terms of refinement & maintenance required. So differential fuel pricing policies or not, there’s a lot going for diesel powered cars; both, in the present & going forward into the future.
