As has been posted above, coasting is not recommended as a way of driving because of giving up any area of control over the vehicle is a bad thing.
The real secret (except it's so blindingly obvious that it's not really a secret) to getting the best fuel consumption is to be smooth. Driving smoothly requires more attention than just driving, as you have to plan much further ahead than you would do usually - it's no bad thing, as Clarkson said when he did that epic trip in the Audi, "if everyone drove with this much concentration all the time, there would never be any crashes, ever". Looking far ahead (as well as close by) means you can allow the car to adjust to the required speed and position without harsh acceleration or braking, for example you could take a bend without braking if you slow using engine braking. Slowing down IN GEAR rather than COASTING is actually MORE fuel efficient, as the engine requires fuel on tickover, whereas when it is being turned by the wheels (called overrun) no fuel is supplied to the engine.
More ways of getting better mileage -
- don't drive short journeys. Use a bike for short journeys, or don't make the journey at all. Motorways generally allow smoother driving and the engine can warm up nicely, making it more efficient.
- don't carry any weight you don't need to, so ditch that tool box.
- reduce drag ... that means washing those dead bugs off the windscreen and bumper
- also on the subject of drag, it's fairly well understood that the energy required to overcome wind resistance at 80mph is something like double the energy required at 60mph. So slow down a little and you won't burn fuel so quickly. Enjoy the ambience of your coupe, and feel sorry for all the muppets around you as they AREN'T in a coupe. They deserve our pity.
- consider your modifications 1 - are they causing extra drag?
- consider your modifications 2 - do they sacrifice fuel efficency for performance? Some chips can balance both efficiency and performance, others not so well.
- consider your modifications 3 - are they extra weight for no benefit?
Of course all of the above work for longer journeys on motorways, on shorter journeys or on windy roads it's difficult not to use the right foot and razz it a bit. Just accept that you can't be a back roads warrior at the same time as an eco friendly tree hugger. A bit of balance, though, means you can still get thrills and not be filling up in 20 minutes. My mileage is 75% motorways and I can easily get 400 miles from a tank, or about 34 mpg (I drive a V6). If I use a whole tank on country roads that drops to about 300 miles on a tankful!
Anyway, the important thing is to be smooth at all times. Listen to Carlos Santana and Ron Thomas, they have it about right.
[edit: just realised it would have been easy to mis-read my sentiment above! When I put "windy" I meant wind that rhymes with "fined", not wind that rhymes with "binned"]
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