Fuelling ideas for filling the tank

But before you press the panic button, there are many simple ways to save cash. Take your car. You may not have to rush out and buy the cheapest, smallest and most fuel-frugal car just yet.

Instead, you may be able to find a big car that drinks like a small car.

The choices are hybrid (basically, a small petrol engine with an electric motor for assistance); diesel (expensive fuel, but goes a long way); petrol (no need to expand on this one); and LPG (it's a gas, but it is also rising in price).

Hybrid: A Toyota Prius costs $37,400, about $12,000 more than a similarly sized and equipped Toyota Corolla. But the Prius gets 4.4litres per 100km and expels only 106g of CO2 for each kilometre, while the Corolla gets 7.4 litres per 100km and emits 175g/km CO2. If you drive the Prius 15,000km a year, it will take 18 years to make up its extra price over the Corolla. But you'll feel greener.

Diesel: A diesel automatic Ford Mondeo is almost as big as a Ford Falcon. Yet, the $37,990 Mondeo gets 7.3 litres per 100km compared with the $39,990 Falcon G6 automatic's 10.5 litres per 100km. But diesel is about $1.70 a litre and petrol is $1.50 a litre, so at 15,000km a year, the Mondeo will still save you $700 each year, and about half the number of refuelling stops.

Thinking green? The Mondeo emits 197g/km CO2 and the Falcon is 252g/km CO2.

LPG: Though most motorists don't equate LPG to petrol, unfortunately it suffers the same erratic price movements. It is now in sympathy with petrol and is about 67c a litre. The Federal Government will start taxing LPG from 2011. Though cheaper, LPG is less efficient than petrol and uses up

to 30 per cent more to travel the same distance. LPG conversions get a government rebate, which makes changing over a plausible economy move for long-distance cars. Ford makes dedicated (that is, not dual-fuel) LPG Falcon models that start at $37,890. Canny motorists can buy previous model LPG Falcons at fleet auctions, though you'll be bidding against some serious taxi owners.

An LPG Falcon gets 15.5 litres per 100km compared with a petrol Falcon's 10.5 litres per 100km. The LPG Falcon costs $1400 more, so it takes 20 months for pay-back and then the LPG car promises lower future running costs. Emissions are 233g/km CO2 for the LPG and 252g/km for the petrol Falcon. Note that government rebates are not available for factory-fit LPG vehicles.

Petrol: Basically, if you're not financially blessed to buy a new car, lower your running costs by using the car less. Don't go out and sell the big family car to buy a small-engined car before doing the sums.

A 10-year-old V8 Holden, for example, is a gas-guzzler at about 16 litres per 100km. It's probably worth $10,000 as a trade-in. Buying a smaller Holden Astra, for example, to save fuel will mean you have a newer and safer car for $16,000. At $1.50 a litre, you could have bought 10,670 litres to fuel the V8 for `free' for 67,000km.

 Would you consider buying a hybrid car to beat the oil price rises?