BRITS are leaving the car at home because they’re proving too expensive to fuel.
According to CarGurus, its survey found that 47% of drivers have cut down on unnecessary trips, while 20% reckon they’re cutting the necessary ones too.
UK car owners are driving an average of 17.8 miles fewer per week than they were prior to the fuel price rises.
That’s the equivalent of removing 564 million miles-worth of journeys or 86,809 cars from the UK’s roads.
The survey also revealed that almost a quarter of drivers would have bought a more economical car if they had known fuel prices would rise so sharply.
57% of those surveyed said that fuel economy was now the most important factor when deciding which car to buy.
This nudged reliability into second place and road tax into third place for the most important elements when buying a car.
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Electric cars have become more popular with car buyers as a direct result of higher fuel costs.
22% of people surveyed said that they were now considering an EV because of petrol and diesel prices, while more than half were now considering an EV full stop.
Chris Knapman, editor at CarGurus, said: “Recent fuel price rises have clearly had a significant impact on the way that UK drivers not only use their existing cars, but shop for their next cars too, with fuel consumption ranking as the number one factor when in the market.”
CarGurus has also offered some handy tips to help driver’s use less fuel and save money.
They include getting rid of excess weight from your car, removing roof racks when they aren’t needed and driving smoothly rather than accelerating and braking harshly.
It has also warned that a car’s air-con system affects fuel economy and should be used only as much as needed to save fuel.
A car’s tyre pressure is also crucial in ensuring less fuel is used, so drivers are asked to check their car’s official pressure guides and inflate them accordingly.