As petrol and diesel prices creep towards the £2 per litre mark (or even higher!) here in the UK, motorists are looking for ways to cut the cost of travel. While there are no signs of the world calming down any time soon, technology is always here to help. We’ve rounded up our favourite fuel-saving apps to help you squeeze every last penny out of your car’s tank.
The AA
• Free with AA membership
The app works by first identifying your location. AA Fuel Prices UK then checks the 10 closest fuel stations and ranks the cheapest five. The results are colour coded – green is the cheapest, red the most expensive. Once the cheapest one has been selected, the app will provide directions to the chosen petrol station.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
myAutomate: Fuel & Charging
• Free
With more than 50,000 locations listed across the UK, myAutomate helps you to find the best places for fueling and parking. Whatever you drive, all of the local information you need is listed, including parking details, fuel prices and electric vehicle charging points. Whether is is convenience or cost that matters to you most, it's all in one place.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
CoPilot Premium UK & Ireland
• £21.95
The most expensive one out of our list, CoPilot Premium not only offers local fuel prices but also a navigation system. It’s won awards, and boasts excellent reviews across both mobile operating platforms.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
Gas Manager
• Free
Gas manager lets you create an in-depth analysis of your expenses, consumption and mileage. It also allows you to export this data as a CSV file if you feel the need to do some more data crunching. You can also make use of the geolocation feature when you lose your car in car park. If you’re going green, you’ll love the fact that the carbon footprint can also be calculated, depending on the vehicle’s consumption.
CARFAX Car Care
• Free
This app lets you input maintenance costs plus fill-ups. The data entry process is a little more complicated and we don’t like the fact you have to search for costs – mpg is the main focus on this app. But you can also pretend to be an F1 driver by using the pitstop feature, which times your fill-up.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
TripLog – Mileage Log Tracker
• Free with in-app purchases
We like that this app automatically starts tracking mileage as soon as you start travelling above 5mph when your phone is connected to your car, and stops when disconnected. You can also see parking locations nearby and access the data on web or mobile devices.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
Petrol prices
• Free
This app claims to help you save money at 98% of UK petrol stations. It’s another crowd-sourced price comparison app, but it awards users points every time they update or confirm a price. You can leave comments and see what other users have to say about individual fill-up points.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
fuelGenie
• Free
Its brand name may play havoc with the rules of grammar, but fuelGenie is a powerful app that lets you browse prices at over 1,350 petrol stations. You can also get yourself a fuel card account that connects with Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. These supermarkets will give you reward points when you use the app to fill up.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
Tips on Improved Fuel Efficiency
Our Lookers Car Guides are geared to those drivers and car owners who don't yet own a new model - designed for improved fuel efficiency - but who still want guidance on how they can improve their car fuel economy based on their existing vehicle. The Lookers Car Guides shown will help identify which driving patterns can help you reduce wastage, improve your fuel economy, and provide a greener drive for the environment.
Save money by going electric
Petrol and diesel costs aren’t likely to come down any time soon, with homes who make use of every fuel-saving tip in the book remain likely to pay more. By switching to an electric car, you can sidestep the fuel crisis and potentially save a lot of money.
The cost of charging an electric car is typically much less than that of petrol and diesel. If you install a charger in your home, those costs go even lower while you charge overnight.
