When the fuel price hurts your finances, here’s how to save money

Fuel prices land differently in South Africa. Ours isn’t a country of short commutes and compact cities. We drive long distances. We sit in traffic jams. We navigate broken traffic lights, morning school runs, punishing potholes, stop-start intersections and highways stretched between provinces.

For many South Africans, fuel isn’t a convenience cost. It’s survival. And while we can’t control what happens in global oil markets, we can control one thing: how efficiently we drive once we’re behind the wheel. The surprising part is just how much waste creeps into our everyday driving behaviour.

Most fuel-saving starts with your right foot. Hard acceleration, late braking and reckless speeding all burn up much more fuel. Every time you take off from a robot like you’re trying to qualify for pole position at Kyalami, your fuel gauge pays the price.

Smooth driving is exponentially more efficient. But it needs to be done with intention and calm – not always easy on SA’s roads. What that means is working on accelerating gradually, maintaining a steady speed, braking earlier and softer and avoiding bursts of speed between traffic lights.

In real-world driving, aggressive acceleration actually only really saves you seconds anyway, but it costs you way more at the petrol pump. So, it’s time to shift your mindset from ‘street racer’ to ‘smooth operator’. And a good way to do that is to turn down the tempo by rethinking your driving playlist or radio channel – more Sade’s Smooth Operator, less Kendrick at full-on concert volume.

Most drivers don’t realise how quickly fuel consumption climbs at high speeds.

Once you push past around 100–110km/h, your engine needs to work harder to overcome the air resistance out there. What that means in real terms is that 120km/h costs much more fuel than 100km/h, driving slower on long trips can save lots of money, and cruise control on open roads can help regulate your trip.

The irony is that many South Africans speed to ‘save time’, only to arrive at the next toll plaza three minutes earlier and R200 poorer. Clearly, it’s just not worth the trade-off.

There’s a long-standing myth that restarting a car uses more petrol than idling. Modern engines would like a word: if you’re parked or waiting for an extended period, idling burns fuel faster and achieves absolutely nothing except adding to climate change.

This is especially true during school pickups, takeaway waits or traffic light gridlock. Your engine should not spend half its life running while doing nothing. Nor should your bank balance.

South Africans love carrying things in their cars. Camping and sports gear, emergency water, half a hardware store, a mysterious crate that’s lived in the boot since 2020. But extra weight increases fuel consumption.

Roof racks are another culprit. Even when empty, they create drag that makes your engine work harder. The logic flows like this: the lighter and more aerodynamic your car, the less fuel it uses. So if your boot currently resembles a Doomsday prepper’s bunker, or your roof rack is carrying the everything but the kitchen sink, it may be time for a gentle declutter.

Underinflated tyres increase rolling resistance, which means your engine needs more effort to keep moving. What that means is your car burns more fuel simply because your tyres are struggling.

Setting your tyres to the correct pressure improves fuel efficiency, safety and your tyres’ lifespan.  Given the current state of some SA roads, your tyres already have enough trauma to deal with. So, check the pressure regularly, especially ahead of long trips.

Fuel efficiency in South Africa is no longer only about distance. It’s about delay.

Lights out at a single intersection can create massive congestion. Short trips become long ones. Detours become routine. Engines idle endlessly while intersections descend into a weird dance of who moves forward first.

This means route planning matters more than ever. Apps like Google Maps and Waze can help avoid severe congestion, accident zones, and ‘lights out’ bottlenecks.

Being better organised is just better for your budget. Combining errands into one trip instead of several smaller trips can bring down that fuel burn significantly. In other words, fewer trips mean fewer tantrums over your fuel tank.

At lower speeds, open windows are generally more fuel-efficient than air conditioning.

At higher highway speeds, though, open windows increase aerodynamic drag, so that aircon may actually become the better option.

So the answer is annoyingly nuanced: windows down in slower urban driving, and aircon more efficient on fast open roads

Simple fact: a poorly maintained car burns much more petrol. Dirty air filters, old spark plugs, poor wheel alignment and no service history all force your engine to work harder than it needs to.

Regular servicing helps improve fuel efficiency, reduce breakdown risk and extend your car’s lifespan. And in a country where many people depend on one car to do absolutely everything, reliability matters.

Fuel-efficient driving isn’t about crawling along with your hazard lights on like a granny on her way to Sunday lunch. It’s about driving with less chaos. That means smoother driving, better planning and less last-minute rushing.

The truth is that the calmer driver typically ends up safer and less stressed. They tend to spend far less money and put far less pressure on their car. Which means fuel-saving isn’t only about petrol. It’s about pressure.

One way to get your headspace into a less hassled driving style is to imagine you have a mug of hot moccachino on your dashboard, and you can’t let it spill.

At Miway, we know South Africans are remarkably resilient and adaptable. When costs rise, we make a plan. We rethink routes, habits, and priorities. And while nobody enjoys watching the petrol price rocket, smarter driving can soften the blow to our budgets.

Because good driving doesn’t just save fuel. It reduces wear and tear, lowers the risks out on the road, and keeps your car in better condition for longer.

So, when your next road trip is going to take more out of your wallet, every healthy driving habit helps.