Getting the most from your fuel dollars.(SAFETY ALERT)

Recent price fluctuations at the gas pump have served as a reminder of the importance of fuel economy. Although what you drive has the greatest effect on your wallet, how you drive can also make a big difference. That's a critical finding from recent real-world fuel-economy tests conducted by the auto engineers at Consumer Reports.

We conducted several tests: We traveled at various highway speeds, drove smoothly and abruptly, used a rooftop luggage carrier, and made frequent short trips. We performed each test with a 2005 Toyota Camry, a four-cylinder midsized sedan, and with a 2005 Mercury Mountaineer, a large, heavy SUV equipped with a V8.

For each vehicle, fuel economy varied significantly, depending on how we drove. For all tests, the sedan at its worst was still better than the SUV at its best.

MONEY-SAVING TIPS

[$] Slow down. Our tests showed that aerodynamic drag increases exponentially the faster you go. We tested our vehicles' fuel economy at 55, 65, and 75 mph. Driving at 75 mph instead of 65 reduced the Camry's gas mileage from 35 mpg to 30.With the Mountaineer, fuel economy fell from 21 mpg to 18. By slowing to 55 mph, the Camry improved to 40 mpg; the Mountaineer, to 24 mpg.

[$] Drive smoothly. Use an easy foot on the gas and brake pedals whenever possible. Avoid hard acceleration, and drive smoothly, anticipating the movement of traffic. Unnecessary braking wastes the fuel you use to get up to speed. In our tests, bursts of acceleration and hard braking reduced the ...