It’s not uncommon to hear drivers complain that their own fuel economy figures fail to match those quoted by their car’s manufacturer. But the victorious Honda-driving teams in this year’s MPG Marathon proved that the discrepancy can be a happy one. Over 400 miles on real roads, the CR-V i-DTEC’s 84.34mpg score was 31.37 per cent higher even than Honda’s own figure – earning it first place in the ‘Best Percentage Improvement’ category.
A Civic Tourer backed up the CR-V’s overall win with an ‘Outright MPG’ gold in its class for a 90.46mpg average. The CR-V and two Civics competing in the event were all powered by Honda’s clean 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engine, which is capable of emitting as little as 94g/km of carbon dioxide.
The MPG Marathon challenge
This independently judged fuel economy challenge is organised by Fleet World magazine. Rather than follow a pre-set route, competitors must find the most efficient route between given checkpoints, which can mean some careful planning to avoid congestion hot spots. In total, the 23 teams cover 400 miles of everyday traffic situations. Topping the league for Honda were Paul Clifton, BBC transport correspondent for southern England, and former police inspector, Shaun Cronin, who led the CR-V to victory.
Not everyone was surprised by the Hondas’ fuel-sipping performance. Back in June, two of the competitors – and previous MPG Marathon winners – Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren (pictured above), set an official Guinness World Record for fuel economy, averaging an incredible 100.31mpg over 25 days and 8,387 miles in a standard Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC.
Eloise and Rory setting the pace at just 17 years old
But even more astonishing is the fact that the fifth-place finishers in this year’s MPG Marathon, Rory Carmichael and Eloise Peabody-Rolf, were just 17 years old and had passed their driving tests just weeks before.
‘Rory and I have both been driving with the Under 17 Car Club since we were 11,’ says Eloise, whose Civic 1.6 i-DTEC achieved 93.81mpg. ‘But 10 days before the event I hadn’t even driven on a motorway. I’d like to think that we’ve shown you don’t need to be a geek or a professional driver to get good MPG, and that age doesn’t matter – it’s more important to have the right car, right approach and attitude. With a few simple techniques we can all keep the fuel costs down.’
