Honda has been crowned the king of low fuel consumption – by recording an average 100.31 miles per gallon over 8,387 miles.
The mark was set in a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC model following a 25-day drive across all 24 European Union countries.
Behind the wheel for the entire journey were two members of the Japanese brand’s European Research & Development team, Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren, who took on the challenge to highlight the real-world economy of the Tourer.
The distance travelled is similar to the team driving to Australia from their home in the UK, stopping just nine times to refuel.
The car achieved an incredible average 932 miles on each tank of fuel, at a total cost for the whole journey of £459.
Starting from Aalst in Belgium on June 1 and navigating the continent in a clockwise direction, the pair returned to their start point on June 25, recording the fuel figures which exceed the Tourer’s official 74.3mpg by more than 25 per cent.
Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren with their record-breaking Honda Civic Tourer
McGrath said: “It was tough, but we really enjoyed it, and setting this new Guinness World Records title has made all the hard work worthwhile. This was a huge team effort.”
Under the rules the same two drivers must be in the car for the whole journey, giving the colleagues of some 18 years and based in the UK, the challenge of driving an average of approximately 380 miles, taking around 7.5 hours, each day.
Based on strict guidelines, the title attempt required the car to enter each of the 24 countries specified, collecting a range of evidence including a fuel/mileage logbook, GPS readings, video and photographs and independent witness signatures for proof.
To ensure accurate monitoring of the route, journey time and distance driven, the record car was fitted with a tracking device, provided by fleet telematics expert TRACKER.
Under the rules of the record title attempt the car must be a standard model in every respect, with no modifications to create an advantage, to replicate ‘real world’ conditions.
The record-breaking Honda Civic Tourer
Fuelling was carried out at regular filling stations, with the tank filled to the maximum at each stop to ensure no weight advantage, and tyres were inflated to the recommended pressures.
The team, both amateur drivers, were also keen to show that through adopting simple but effective driving techniques, anybody could achieve such remarkable fuel economy.
They did it by using sensible route planning, driving smoothly and consistently without harsh acceleration or braking, anticipating the road conditions ahead, carrying no unnecessary weight, and ensuring that the car was correctly maintained.
