Honda sets new efficiency record with 100mpg Civic run
On an epic road trip across the EU, a Honda Civic Tourer breaks the Guinness World Record for fuel economy
Fuel consumption is a big deal these days, with the most efficient cars keenly sought-after by buyers but without driving like an aerodynamically optimsed saint, it's pretty hard to recreate a vehicle's official fuel economy figures. Or is it? Honda set out to prove that mpg above and beyond the official numbers is possible in its Civic Tourer setting a 100mpg world record in the process.
With an official consumption figure of 74.3mpg, Honda's Civic Tourer with the 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine isn't exactly thirsty. But on a huge journey of 8,387 miles across the EU, the Civic Tourer achieved a return of 100.31 miles per gallon. That's a figure more than 25% over the official consumption figure, and it now holds the Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption on a trip visiting all 24 continuous EU countries.
While this would be easy to achieve in some specially lightened economy champ, rules stated that the car had to be an unmodified, road-going model, using regular fuel and brimming the tank at each fill-up ensuring no weight advantage. The car was driven by the same two colleagues from Honda's R&D department and between them they drove an average of 7.5 hours a day. They began in Aalst, Belgium, and after visiting all 24 EU countries returned to their start point.
The team credited their remarkable economy to simple driving techniques - careful route planning, accelerating and braking smoothly and carrying as little weight as possible in the Honda Civic Tourer's generous boot.
It's certainly a compelling advert for what's possible simply with careful driving - the Civic Tourer averaged 932 miles on each tank of fuel, and only cost £459 in diesel for the entire 8,837-mile journey. That's a similar distance to driving from the UK to Australia. After the 25-day journey, the drivers are said to be looking forward to being back behind a desk rather than a wheel.
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