Last week, hurriedly made notices began springing up on forecourts across the country, trying to head off verbal assaults by drivers furious that fuel prices had jumped by 20% in a matter of weeks.

“We apologise for the price of fuel,” they said.

“This is caused by the ongoing global crisis.” The signs weren’t in Britain but in America, where motorists are now being asked to pay a whopping $4 per gallon – 54p a litre.

Most Americans, it seems, are unaware that their European cousins are paying nearly three times as much for their fuel. Pundits in the United States admit that if they were hit by European prices, there would be fuel riots and the ransacking of refineries. On this side of the Atlantic, though, the reaction to fuel prices reaching an all-time inflation-adjusted record, has been typically muted, even though the Treasury pockets about 58% of the cost – plus Vat.

There have been no demonstrations outside oil company headquarters, no storming of parliament, just some polite petitions on the Downing Street website calling for a modest 10p reduction in fuel tax. In keeping with the longstanding British tradition of blaming ourselves, many drivers are regretting having bought a thirsty car and are wondering whether they should switch to a more frugal one.

In the long term, we’ll all be forced into Smart cars, but you don’t need to take such drastic action right away. Instead, consider becoming a fuel miser. Like wartime rationing, it’s not pleasant, but it could cut your yearly fuel bills by hundreds of pounds.

Get your facts straight
Do you even know how much fuel your car is using? To find out, fill the tank to the brim, drive a set number of miles to a filling station (use the odometer to check the distance), then see how much fuel it takes to brim the tank again. Due to fuel-foaming, a diesel requires patience to brim, so be prepared to spend several minutes repeatedly topping it up until you’re satisfied it will take no more fuel. Repeat this exercise a few times and you’ll get a good idea of your average fuel consumption, and a basis for testing the effectiveness of any steps you take to improve economy.

You can’t rely on official fuel figures, as these are calculated under test conditions rather than based on real-world driving. If you’re planning on buying a car, take it for a long test drive first and check its fuel consumption. Alternatively, weblogs and chat rooms are good places to gather information.

Running on chip fat
Environmentalists have been experimenting with running their diesel-engined cars on vegetable oil for years. Car companies don’t approve of this, and you can jeopardise your warranty by doing it, but owners of older diesels may think it’s worth the risk, with vegetable oil costing as little as 80p a litre when bought wholesale. You can’t get away with just pouring vegetable oil into your tank – at least not for long. For long-term use you’ll need an extra tank fitted, as conventional diesel is still needed to start the engine from cold, and to run it until it reaches operating temperature.

Alternatively, you can convert vegetable oil into biodiesel. Companies such as Green Fuels in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, sell doit-yourself kits that can produce biodiesel in batches using a process that involves mixing heated vegetable oil (or waste cooking oil from cafes or restaurants) with other chemicals and filtering off the end product. The smallest kit costs £1,169 at www.greenfuels.co.uk and can produce 40 litres of fuel a day.

Production costs work out at about 15p per litre, and if you can get waste oil for free, you’re looking at extremely cheap motoring. Plus, unless you make more than 2,500 litres a year you no longer need to pay tax (up to July last year motorists had to pay duty of about 27p per litre on homemade biodiesel). Some companies sell ready-made biodiesel. You can find a list at www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk.

Older engines usually experience fewer problems as they have less complex fuel injection systems, but enthusiasts insist that properly produced biodiesel can work fine even on new cars. You can access a database of makes and models and find information about how well they have run on vegetable oil at tinyurl.com/6c38z5. For more information try www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk.

Do your research first, or you could face a costly repair bill – and you’ll get little sympathy from your garage.

Make your car a gas guzzler
The government no longer provides cash incentives to encourage motorists to convert their cars to run on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) but the fuel remains substantially cheaper. Even taking into account the reduction in fuel economy (typically no more than 10%), LPG still works out at about half the price of unleaded.

There will be some loss of power, but this should be no more than 5% and should not be noticeable in day-to-day driving. Prices for an LPG conversion range from about £1,300 to £2,000 and the work takes about a week. There are lots of conversion companies to choose from, including www.lpg-cars.co.uk (07918 635 995) or www.greenfuel.org.uk (0845 4900 189). You may also qualify for an exemption from the London congestion charge. A list of conversion companies approved by Transport for London is available at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.

Chipping your engine
Chipping or remapping an engine by reprogramming its software (on many new cars this can be done by simply plugging in a laptop) has traditionally been used to increase a car’s power and performance, but it is increasingly being seen as a way to boost fuel economy. Improved torque can mean a reduced need for gearchanging and more relaxed cruising, and some chipping companies claim fuel economy improvements of up to 16%. We think a 2-3mpg reduction in average fuel consumption is more realistic, though.

With more power available, you’ll have to restrain your right foot if you want to see the best possible savings. Chipping may also affect your warranty. Superchips (01280 816 781, www.superchips.co.uk) is one of the market leaders.

Cheap-as-chips fuel
You’re not going to save more than a few pennies in the current climate, but you can find your cheapest local garage at www.petrolprices.com. Remember to calculate the cost of getting there, though – there’s no point clocking up dozens of miles on a mission to save a penny on a litre of petrol. Also, although it’s tempting to brim the tank, the added weight of a full tank increases fuel consumption.

Contrary to popular belief, super unleaded petrol is unlikely to make your engine more economical. You can save a little at every fill-up by making sure you get all the fuel you’ve paid for out of the hose – lift the hose up high so the remaining fuel drains into the tank before replacing the nozzle.

Slow down
Driving more slowly could cut your fuel costs by as much as £500 a year, according to a study published last week. The What Car? magazine tests, based on five cars ranging from a 1 litre Toyota Aygo to a 2.2 litre Land Rover, found the most fuel-efficient speed was below 40mph, and as low as 20mph for two of the cars.

The average car consumes 38% more fuel at 70mph than it does over the same distance at 50mph. At 60mph it uses 34% more than at 40mph and a driver in an average-size car travelling at 90mph on a motorway will spend about £1.20 more on fuel every eight minutes than a driver travelling at 70mph. You’ll also save on speeding fines.

Smooth operator
Simple changes in driving style can noticeably improve fuel economy. Focus on keeping your driving smooth, with no heavy acceleration or braking, and make sure you’re in the right gear.

A car cruising at 40mph on rural roads uses 20% more fuel in fourth gear than it does in sixth, according to the same What Car? study mentioned above. Look ahead and try to anticipate conditions so you can change gear at the right time and avoid any sudden changes of speed.

You can also save a small amount of fuel by reversing into a parking space. This means you’ll have to do less manoeuvring when the engine is cold and at its least efficient.

Pump up
Check your tyre pressures at least once a week. Research by the RAC Foundation (www.racfoundation.org) shows that 20% underinflation (typically 6psi) can increase your fuel consumption by 3%, reducing tyre life by 30% into the bargain.

Regular servicing will also help to keep your car running as efficiently as possible.

Slim down
Any added weight means the engine has to work harder and fuel consumption increases. Start by checking your boot and remove any unnecessary items. Taking off a roof rack that isn’t needed will improve aerodynamics and so reduce fuel consumption.

Sweat it out
Air-conditioning systems can decrease fuel economy by as much as 1mpg. To keep the system in good working order you need to run it at least once a week for about 20 minutes, but you could try turning it off in between.

If you exchange air-conditioning for open windows and sunroof, this will compromise the car’s aerodynamics, increasing fuel consumption and possibly wiping out any fuel saving from switching off the air-conditioning.

The only fail-safe option is to invest in a Johnny Vegas-strength deodorant and drive airless and air-conless – if you think it’s worth the fuel savings.

It’s hard to believe, but turning off your stereo will also save fuel, but not much, and then you’ll really feel miserable at the wheel.

Stop and go
An increasing number of new cars come with an engine “stop-start” system, which turns off the engine when the car is stationary (say, at traffic lights), then automatically restarts it when the driver presses the accelerator to set off again.

BMW calculates that its stop-start system (available on all of its four-cylinder manual-transmission cars) could reduce fuel consumption by 3% or more.

An increasing number of companies, ranging from Citroën to Mercedes-Benz, are offering stop-start technology as an option, although you have to request it when you buy a new car, as these manufacturers’ systems cannot be retro-fitted.

Downgrade your car
The quickest way to save a lot of cash is to sell your car and buy a small, cheap, secondhand one. An estimated £2 billion has been wiped off the secondhand car market in the past six months, according to research published last month by Sainsbury’s Finance, so now is a good time to pick up a bargain.

Diesels will use less fuel, but often cost more to buy in the first place, so make sure you do your sums properly. To decide whether diesel is the cheaper option, you’ll need to weigh the car’s fuel economy against your annual mileage, and the higher price of diesel compared with petrol.

Bear in mind that you should be able to recoup some of the extra purchase price when you come to sell the car, unless, that is, the cost of diesel fuel continues to rise at a greater rate than the cost of petrol, which will have a detrimental effect on diesel-car residuals.

Various websites such as www.eta.co.uk/car_cost_calculator can help you to calculate the ownership costs of a petrol car compared with a diesel-powered one or and alternative-fuel car.

Miscellaneous
If you have satellite navigation, use it so that you don’t waste fuel going round in circles while stubbornly refusing to ask for directions.

If you have a sat nav device that will divert you around jams, that’s even better. It might help you choose the shortest, rather than fastest route, although this depends on whether the shorter distance is through stop-start traffic, which will guzzle fuel. Experiment with the different options.

Buddy up with someone from work and share the driving duties. You’ll halve your fuel costs, provided you can handle polite, businesslike conversation before your eyes are properly open.

Try www.nationalcarshare.co.uk, www.liftshare.org, www.shareacar.com or a plethora of local schemes, to look for someone doing a similar commute in your area.

You could buy an electric car and cut out petrol altogether. A new Reva G-Wiz electric quadricycle looks (a bit) like a car. It will set you back almost £9,000, though, and will only travel up to 48 miles between recharges.

You can also check out used examples from about £4,000 at www.goingreen.co.uk.

Failing all else, give the bus queue some serious consideration.

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