Modern diesel engines are pretty good to drive and offer massive amounts of torque and outright power. One of the consequences of this is that many modern vans, when empty, are pretty fast.

The problem is that vans need to have a reasonable level of performance when loaded, which can almost double the total weight of the vehicle. Providing this performance means that they are unnecessarily fast when empty. We’ve all seen vans keeping pace with BMWs in the outside lane of motorways – an empty van is a fairly swift vehicle. However, much as van drivers might enjoy this aspect of their vehicles, it is not such fun for the person who pays the fuel bills.

High performance comes at a cost and it is possible to save significant amounts of fuel by applying a lighter right foot when driving empty. This is not something that all van drivers will do voluntarily – so, unsurprisingly, someone has come up with an electronic gadget that will force them to…

The Zeta ExcelArate has just been launched as a £500 option on new Mercedes-Benz Sprinters. It monitors the vehicle’s weight and allows just enough fuel to be used to provide a moderate level of performance – and no more. According to Fleet News, it has been trialled with companies including Parcelforce, Sainsbury, Waitrose and Ocado and the results have been good, with fuel savings averaging around 10% – a massive reduction in a fleet’s annual fuel bill.

The ExcelArate can also be programmed to provide a speed limiter that can be varied by a fleet manager – for example, vans that do not do motorway work can have their top speed limited to 60mph.

I do not expect that this is device is likely to appear on rental vans, where customers pay for their own fuel, but it does provide fleet managers with a solution to a problem that has been growing for some time – even though drivers may not be quite so keen on it…

Source: Fleet News