Fiat has just launched a new device that could change the way motorists drive their cars.

The system gives drivers an accurate insight into how their driving style influences their fuel consumption, and actively helps them to drive more efficiently, saving money and reducing their CO2 emissions.

eco:Drive is a free software application that can be downloaded and installed on your computer, available at www.fiat.com/ecodrive eco:Drive works using Fiat’s Blue&Me entertainment and communications system. Plugging any USB key into the Blue&Me port allows eco:Drive to record detailed information about the vehicle’s efficiency and your driving style during a journey. The information can be ‘read’ by plugging the USB key into your computer when you’ve finished driving.

Users can analyse fuel consumption and emissions for each journey made, and receive advice on how to drive more efficiently, reducing their impact on the environment. eco:Drive will give you a score out of 100 — your eco:Index — to show how efficiently you have driven, based on your acceleration, deceleration, gear changes and speed. A series of tutorials will help you to improve your score, showing you how to perfect your driving using detailed information from your own journeys.

Fiat says drivers who start eco:Driving can expect to improve their driving efficiency by up to 15 per cent. That means a 15 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions and in fuel costs.