What Uses More Gas? Coasting or Engine Braking?



You’ve probably thought about it before. Does it actually save gas if you put your car in neutral as you coast down a hill versus braking? Our guess is that you probably think that being in neutral is more likely to give you better fuel economy, but that isn’t always true. Now as always, there’s a broad range of views on this with people falling all over the spectrum but here’s a video that may change YOUR view on things.

Obviously, the answer depends on a number of variables. Take this scenario for example. If you’re coming up on a red light and you can tell it’s going to stay red for a while, engine braking will slow you down without using any fuel and that would be the most efficient option. However, if you know that the light is going to turn green (which you can never really know for sure, but based on the surroundings) then it would be more efficient to coast in neutral and then accelerate once the light has turned green again.

At the end of the day, this video found that leaving the car in gear can actually use a lot less fuel than in neutral. Why? Well, the computers need to inject fuel to keep it running when it’s in neutral and not when the engine is spinning while the engine is braking. Does this sway your opinion? If not, let us know your theory!

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