Dr Dave
Established Member
In modern fuel injected vehicles coasting actually uses more fuel.I am a firm advocate of coasting in ICE cars for maximising fuel economy. As far as I can see, the associated risks are no greater than other negligent driving activities (such as being in the wrong gear at a junction etc).
BUT I haven't (yet) done it in the electric car (except for one exploratory attempt at low speeds) for the simple reason that I am not sure what would happen if you inadvertently stuck the car into reverse whilst turning the knob too far anti-clockwise in the process of trying to select neutral. It's a real possibility and could have disastrous consequences. Has anyone any experience of this? I have more experimentation to do on this but I'm not in any great hurry as I believe that you are unlikely to get much (if any) advantage by coasting in an electric vehicle with regen. Also I need to understand the drive system better to make a judgement. Nevertheless my left hand still wants to reach out and push the gearbox into neutral on downhills![]()

Coasting in Neutral Does Not Save Gas: Claim Check
Coasting downhill in neutral consumes less fuel than in gear, right? Wrong. Coasting in neutral is dangerous and it burns up more fuel. Here's why.