VW Passat: 1,527 miles on one tank
Monday 04 October 2010
A standard Volkswagen Passat Bluemotion has covered a world record-breaking 1,527 miles on a single tank of fuel.
The Guinness World Records organization has officially recognized this as a world-beating distance.
Volkswagen Passat Bluemotion gallery:
Driven on public roads in France and Britain by Sunday Times journalist Gavin Conway, the car averaged 45mph and 89.83mpg over three days. The Passat Bluemotion’s official, combined economy figure is 64.2mpg.
It cost just over six pence per mile to complete a distance equivalent to driving from London to Malaga.
The Passat Bluemotion is a standard production car that has a stop and start technology, a 1.6-litre common rail diesel engine, a transmission geared for economy, aerodynamic changes including a lower ride height, and special tyres.
Volkswagen also sells Bluemotion versions of the smaller Golf and Polo models, and was one of the first car makers to offer overtly green models.
Rivals for the Passat Bluemotion include the Vauxhall Insignia Ecoflex and Ford Mondeo Econetic.
The Passat’s run was overseen by the AA, and breaks a record set in 2002 when an Australian couple drove a Peugeot 406 1,459 miles on one tank of fuel.
By Martin Gurdon