Motorists are spending 34% more filling up their cars than they were at the start of the year, with fuel prices having jumped by over 10% since the start of August.
With over half of drivers (53%) using their car less to save on fuel costs, we wanted to find out how this increased cost is impacting drivers' behaviour and if it's changing what they want out of their car.
We surveyed 2,066 UK motorists with a petrol, diesel or hybrid car, and asked them about everything from what they do at the pump to whether rising fuel prices will make them more likely to make the move to electric.
This is what we found...
Are drivers worried about the cost of filling up?
Over half of motorists we surveyed (53%) were concerned about rising fuel prices.
Almost the same number (49%) were shocked about how much it is costing them to fill up, and 45% are worried about the speed at which fuel prices are increasing.
A third of drivers (33%) reported feeling under increased financial pressure with 30% admitting that they're finding it more difficult to afford trips to the petrol station.
Nearly a fifth of respondents (18%) have had to cut back on household spending to accommodate the increased costs.
Diesel owners were the most likely to feel squeezed. This isn't surprising considering diesel has just hit £2 a litre – its highest record price and 56p more than at the start of the year. *
More than a third of diesel owners (36%) said filling up is becoming difficult to afford, compared with 29% of motorists overall.
What are motorists doing to counteract higher fuel costs?
With over 17.4 million motorists already cutting back on how much they are driving to save on fuel, we wanted to know what else people were trying. **
When it came to filling up, over a third (36%) said they're more likely to shop around for cheaper fuel, with 31% checking online to see where near them had the lowest prices.
Despite almost a third checking fuel prices online, we found that just 18% were willing to travel further to a petrol station that was cheaper.
According to our research, drivers aged 17 to 24 were the most willing to travel to fill up at a petrol station where prices were lower – with 34% happy to make the journey.
We found that drivers in this age group were also the most likely to try and beat rising fuel costs by trying fuel-saving hacks they had seen online – with 18% having followed this advice, compared with 11% of motorists overall.
Is the price of filling up changing how drivers behave at the pump?
Despite rising costs, most motorists remain committed to their usual refuelling habits:
- 40% were still putting in a full tank of fuel despite it costing more
- 34% continued to fill up to a set monetary amount, even though it equates to fewer miles
For those who had changed their behaviour, we found that the majority were heavily influenced by cost considerations.
One-in-five motorists (21%) said they were filling up only to the amount that a full tank would have cost previously.
Just 5% of respondents reported changing their behaviour and had chosen to put more fuel in their car than they would have in the past for fear that prices would continue to rise.
Is this impacting what people want out of their cars?
A third of car owners we surveyed (34%) want their next car to be more fuel efficient, as one-in-six consider downsizing to a smaller car that would be cheaper to fill up.
With rising fuel prices making 34% of drivers more mindful about the fuel efficiency of their current car, we wanted to understand if this increased cost was influencing what drivers would want when it came time to change their current car.
We found that of the drivers we surveyed:
- 25% said that the current cost of filling up was making them more likely to consider a hybrid for their next car
- 24% reported that rising fuel prices were making them more likely to consider an electric vehicle (EV) for their next car
While there are many other factors that will influence motorists' car buying decisions, it's interesting to see that rising fuel prices appear to be shifting what motorists want out of their next car.
Methodology
Fuel price rises were calculated using RAC Fuel Watch Data. Data correct as of 11 am on 6th October 2026.
Motorpoint enlisted SurveyGoo to survey 2,066 UK motorists with a petrol, diesel or hybrid car. Data collected between Wednesday 30th September and Friday 2nd October 2026. All statistics and findings have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Full data is available.
Average UK fuel prices on the day the survey went live, according to RAC Fuel Watch:
- Diesel 199.82p
- Petrol 174.59p
* According to RAC Fuel Watch data – rounded to the nearest penny.
** Calculated using vehicle licensing data and the survey data. Total number of licensed cars on UK roads (minus zero emission cars) = 32,871,047