Bells and Whistles

Increasingly even the most technophobic amongst us hanker after more and more gadgets for our cars. For many people  a car without air-con is unthinkable and shouts of "What no multi disc CD changer" can be heard up and down the car showrooms of Britain. Where there isn't standard equipment we now bring our own plug ins to the car be it sat nav, ipod or mobile phone kits. All of these items require electricity which means the engine is working harder just to power them. Before you all start switching everything off there are some things to consider.

Lets start with the air-con. First driving with the windows opens increases drag which means the engine works harder so if it's hot you need to do something and air-con is more efficient at controlling the cars temperature. Second most manufacturers recommend that the air conditioning system is used regularly so you don't want to jeopardise your warranty. Sat nav also has a place in helping us save fuel by allowing us to plan journeys more effectively and avoid driving around lost. In addition many systems now monitor the journey ahead and alert the driver of potential hold ups ahead, and provide alternative routes to avoid them. To be fair the same result canbe more or less achieved by studying a map and consulting either the AA road watch or Highways Agency traffic feeds though for some of us that is a bit too much multi tasking.