THEY are advertising for new teachers at the moment and a good place to start looking might be in the fleet management industry.

After all, it is the role of a fleet manager to take reluctant 'pupils' and coach them toward correct and efficient use of their vehicles, providing punishment if the drivers stray too far.

One key area for any employer to make a real difference is in fuel economy, but it is also one of the hardest lessons to teach.

Take our common-rail Ford Mondeo TDCi, which offers excellent performance with a sub-10 second 0-62mph time and handling to match all that power. In the right hands, you should be able to nudge 50mpg with the excellent common-rail diesel engine, if you plan ahead and treat the accelerator with care.

Treat it like a race car - and admittedly our Mondeo looks the part thanks to its alloy wheels and bodykit - and as well as shortening the life of the engine, you could push fuel economy down to below 40mpg.

Now pay attention, class: Over 60,000 miles, the frugal driver will use 1,200 gallons of fuel, while the impatient driver will use 1,538 gallons. This equates to a £1,179 saving per car over the standard three-year life of a fleet car. For a 100-vehicle fleet, you will know from Mr Robson's maths class, that the saving would be £117,900.

Being efficient with fuel doesn't necessarily equate to driving slowly either, and as our Mondeo engine beds in, fuel economy is creeping up towards the 48mpg figure claimed by the manufacturer.

As most fleet managers will admit, getting this lesson over to fleet drivers is a difficult one, although they seem to have cleared the first hurdle by shifting to diesel in droves.

If they choose the Mondeo, equipped with the TDCi engine, they will not regret moving away from petrol.