Start Stop Car Technology: What Is It and Why Would You Want It?
Anyone looking to change their car in recent times will have undoubtedly gone looking for the performance figures of the car they're considering. Performance in the past has generally been focused on how fast the car accelerates or its top speed, but modern cars are becoming much more focused on fuel efficiency and carbon emissions.
Start stop technology has been introduced by a number of manufacturers, including Volvo and BMW, to help reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions in the long term. The idea is simple, when the car stops and is out of gear, in neutral, provided the battery is strong enough, the engine will switch off. When you need to pull away again, the engine restarts as soon as you press the clutch pedal or the accelerator, allowing the driver to drive in the normal way with the car deciding when the engine should and should not be running.
For such a simple idea, albeit with complex electronics behind it, the savings can be significant. Some models show greatly increased fuel efficiency with corresponding decreases in the declared emissions value of the car, usually expressed in kilograms of CO2 per kilometre.
Start stop technology is just one method of cutting fuel usage and emissions, both of which drive the overall cost of motoring and, in some countries, the taxes associated with owning and using a car. The idea of having the engine start and stop seemingly of its own accord may be off-putting for a great many motorists, but the modern systems allow seamless driving while the engine starts and stops only at appropriate times.
As the global price of fuel continues to climb with no sign of it ever reducing again, the benefit of any system that will cut usage without really affecting the driving experience becomes clear and irresistible for most people trying to save money on their every day motoring costs and have less impact on the world around them.