Radio Features

On Tuesday, 28 October, Annie Othen’s show on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire tried to find out whether different driving conditions really do change a car's efficiency.

Stew and Adair getting ready

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire’s resident scientist - Dr Adair Richards from the University of Warwick – and Annie’s producer, Stew Kingscott, drove around the Coventry Ring Road – all in the name of science.

Dr Adair Richards

With Stew at the wheel and Adair watching the experiment closely, they took the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire car on laps around the route – firstly with the windows closed, correct tyre pressure, and driving with no excessive braking or gear changes.

After re-filling the tank to the same amount, they continued around the Ring Road, but this time with the windows down, the air conditioning on – along with the heating, radio and lights – and still driving safely, but with more braking and gear changes. Extra weight was also added to the car with another person sitting in the back.

The whole experiment, which lasted for about two hours – one hour for each condition – produced some interesting findings.

Driving on the Ring Road

They found that driving with the new conditions – such as lights being on and the windows down – made their journey 21% less efficient compared to the first trip around the Ring Road. This rough experiment also found that an average driver could say up to £336 per year if they drove more efficiently.

You can hear their features on Annie’s show by clicking on the links below:

Chris Bates, a listener to the show also spotted the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire car and snapped them on their journey!

Chris Bates spotted the car

Please note that this science experiment, the driving and the conditions were all undertaken responsibly.

This car's electric

On Tuesday, 11 November, Annie Othen's show returned to this experiment... By trying it with an electric car.

Joanne Rainbow by the electric car

Dr Adair Richards from the University of Warwick was joined by Joanne Rainbow from Coventry City Council's Sustainable Transport Team and they took the council's electric car on a trip around the Ring Road. It has no air conditioning and no power steering.

They completed 14 laps and found that they used 1 pounds worth of electricity, which is 1.88p per mile.

The downside of this story is that you can't buy these cars and Coventry City Council is just one of 100 places in the UK that are testing the electric Smart cars.

You can hear their findings by clicking on the link below:

But who knows what technology may bring in years to come?