Used correctly on the right road, cruise control can reduce fuel consumption rather than increase it. However, it is not a magic wand when it comes to maximising your MPG, and any savings depend entirely on the road you're driving.
With fuel prices still squeezing household budgets, it's no surprise that drivers are looking closely at every habit behind the wheel that might be costing them money. That’s why the merits (and drawbacks) of cruise control are often debated when it comes to fuel economy.
In this guide we separate the myths from the evidence, drawing on independent testing and motoring body research to explain exactly how cruise control can affect your fuel bill, and how to use it more efficiently.
How Cruise Control Can Save Fuel
Conventional cruise control holds your car at a set speed, removing the need for your foot to constantly ease on and off the accelerator. This matters because the small, repeated bursts of acceleration a human driver naturally makes are a major efficiency loss.
Research from Natural Resources Canada found that holding a steady speed of around 50mph used roughly 20% less fuel than a car whose speed drifted between 47mph and 53mph every 18 seconds.
Independent road testing tells a similar story, if a slightly less dramatic one. A widely cited road test by the car research site Edmunds found fuel savings of up to 14% when cruise control was used, though the average benefit across various vehicles and conditions was closer to 7%.
