Sometimes it seems that no matter what you do, your pick-up just seems to guzzle fuel like there's no tomorrow. You only filled up less than a week ago, have only been travelling to work and back yet you're going to need to fill up again soon?

Simple techniques can improve your fuel efficiency without really making a lot of effort at all.

• Making sure the tyres are at the correct pressure
• Inflating your tyres to the maximum required
• Maintaining your vehicle
• Using gears efficiently (there is no point speeding up to fourth gear with road works that will slow you down in 100 meters)
• Accelerate and brake wisely
• Smoothly changing gears

These can all help fuel efficiency of your pick-up. But factors such as weight, resistance and aerodynamic drag can reduce fuel efficiency.

So, if you have a Toyota Hilux with an open load bed you will find that drag from the wind will dramatically reduce fuel efficiency. Due to the open bed the wind will be trapped as it passes, whereas with a hardtop fitted the Hilux will be a continuous shape travelling smoothly.

We all want the best fuel efficiency, if money can be saved on fuel then why waste time?

Auto Styling UK decided to test the best type of cover for fuel efficiency in a Toyota Hilux.

We tested the fuel efficiency by only changing one variable, the type of bed cover. To get the best comparison we first tested the Hilux with no bed cover, then using different covers inlcluding:

• Truckman S-Series Hardtop -
  A cab-high top featuring roof bars
• Truckman AeroTop RS Hardtop -
  A cab-high top with solid sides
• Truckman Classic Hardtop -
  A high roof top with steel reinforcements
• EGR Soft Tonneau Cover -
  A secure load-bed cover designed to reduce wind resistance.

The test was carried out around a 2 mile track for 5 laps. Therefore each test covered 10 miles, meaning the accuracy of the test was greater improved to results taken from one 2 mile lap.

Results were as follows:

As you can see, the best cover for your Toyota Hilux would be an EGR soft tonneau cover, improving fuel consumption by a large 3.0%. This stops wind being trapped in the open load bed, although compared to the other hardtop variables, an EGR soft tonneau cover compromises the space of your load bed leaving you limited if you often need to carry larger loads. But other than that they are already much cheaper than a hardtop, aswell as much more fuel efficient so you will snatch back the costs of the tonneau cover in less than 5 years!

The Truckman AeroTop RS and Truckman ASX S-Series hardtops both improved fuel efficiency due to their cab-high, flush design. These hardtops allow for a much greater load capacity than the Toyota Hilux bed and will keep your load safe and secure while improving the fuel efficiency of your truck. The money that you save from fuel could, in-theory, pay back the cost of your hardtop at least £200 in just the first few years. Improving the aerodynamics of your pick-up and gaining all the extra load space will pay for itself over time, surely worth it?

We now move on to the Truckman Classic hardtop. This will set you back an extra 3.4% fuel costs a year, covering just 29.4mpg. At first you might be thinking... No way! A large price to pay for a hardtop. But is it really? Depending on your hardtop criteria, having to pay extra fuel costs may be worth the extra load capacity. After all, it is the hardtops high roof profile that causes the extra costs. The high roof design means that the aerodynamic shape of a flush hardtop is lost and wind resistance is increased as the shape breaks up the smooth flow of the vehicle.

The Auto Styling UK fuel efficiency test is a great guideline if you are looking to save money on fuel. The better and worse hardtops for fuel consumption are highlighted, perfect if you're not too sure which type of hardtop or cover you would like. There's nothing better than buying a new tonneau cover or hardtop than something that will pay itself off over time. An EGR Soft Tonneau cover is the most obvious option. Being under £300 but saving at least £70 a year in fuel costs it will soon pay for itself. For some however, the limited safe load capacity is simply not an option.

Although the Truckman Classic actually causes higher costs in fuel in the long run, if for example, you are a gardener or decorator by profession, you are going to need a higher load capacity to save you playing Tetris to fit all your equipment in. This will benefit you much more than saving money on fuel each year. In this instance, saving yourself the hassle each time you load your pick-up may be better than saving on fuel costs.

View the Autostyling range of Pick-up Hardtops