I noticed my car burns more fuel in winter. I don’t use the heater or Air Con. So all being equal why more fuel? Is it something to do with Oxygen density in cold weather? If so, please explain 🙂
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The main cause is air density. Colder air is denser, which means it is thicker and causes more drag. So, the car has to deal with more drag, and you need more fuel to maintain the same speed and acceleration.
There are some other effects, such as the engine and powertrain taking longer to warm up – so there is more friction from cold parts and cold oil. If you do shorter journeys, this becomes more significant, and for very short in-town journeys, this could be the main effect.
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