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REGULAR motorists could beat the fuel crunch and save themselves £100 a year by reversing into parking spaces, says a Welsh expert.

Leaving the car pointing the right way for its next journey cuts fuel consumption.

If the car has to be reversed or turned before it sets off on its journey, it could be burning 40p worth of fuel each time, at current pump prices.

The difference arises because a cold car engine consumes more petrol than a hot engine, where the petrol is mixed with more air.

Tim Shallcross, Welsh policy officer for the IAM Motoring Trust, said older drivers were aware of the difference because they used to adjust the choke on their cars to vary the petrol mix as the engine warmed up.

However, younger motorists were unaware of the difference between cold and warm engines because the mix was now automatically adjusted.

“With a cold engine, you’re probably using four times the fuel you are with a warmed-up engine,” said Mr Shallcross, who lives in Carmarthenshire.

“At one end of the journey, you’re going to have to do a few shunts to park. It’s much better to do that with a warm engine using thimblefuls of fuel rather than a cold engine using bucket- loads.”

A car engine is meant to operate at about 110°C. Even on a hot summer day, its temperature will quickly cool after power is switched off.

A commuter who reverses into his or her drive each evening could save about £2 a week over someone with an identical car who does the reversing in the mornings.

Over a year, the saving could amount to about £100, said Mr Shallcross.

His advice could also apply to parking at the workplace or rail station.

Even shoppers should heed the advice, said Mr Shallcross.

“On a cold day in winter, within three hours of parking the car, the engine is stone cold. By the time you’ve been round the shops and got back into the car, if you reversed into the parking space you will probably save 30p to 40p over the person next door who has to do a bit of shunting before driving off.”

He said the effect was less significant in diesel cars.