Back in the day it was really essential to adhere to rigorous running-in methods for the best life and overall performance from a brand new vehicle. You may recall the picture of a brand new car going slowly but surely in the nearside lane of the motorway having a ‘running-in, please pass’ warning in the back window.

Advancements in engineering, production and oil quality show that modern day vehicles tend to be much less reliant on this cautious treatment for the initial thousand miles.

It’s nevertheless a smart idea to take some special care though, especially if it’s a vehicle you intend to retain for some time – reliability, oil usage and petrol consumption can all benefit.

Consult the dealership for guidance when you pick the vehicle up, and check out the manual – quite a few still contain some ‘running-in’ suggestions.

Within the very first 1000 miles;

Begin with mild city driving so virtually all of the parts, such as brakes can bed-in

New car tyres have a very thin oily coating – an assortment of oils in the rubber along with a release agent to avoid the tyre adhering to the production mould. Until eventually this wears off the handling will really feel different, particularly while in the wet

Resist hard acceleration and speed and heavy braking;

For diesel-powered engines, keep your motor speed beneath 3000 rpm, but ensure that the revs frequently reach this limit

For petrol engines adhere to a 3000 rpm restriction for your very first 500-600 miles after which you can raise the limit to approximately 4000 rpm. Once again, revs should frequently reach this limit.

Steer clear of labouring the engine – by shifting up too soon for instance;

Examine oil and coolant quantities at the very least once a week – it is a new car which means you don’t know how much oil it’ll use. Oil usage may be higher for that very first 6000 miles or so but ought to slow, specifically if the vehicle has been handled gently in the beginning. Following the first 1000 miles progressively use more of your car’s performance.