Cheap Car Hire Worldwide

Volkswagen Passat TDI sets World Record

Volkswagen-Passat-TDI

It appears that the Volkswagen Passat diesel has set a new Guiness World Record for average fuel consumption for a drive across North America in a non-hybrid vehicle.

The diesel-powered Volkswagen Passat TDI crossed 48 US States – about 13,071 kilometers – in 17 days and managed to average just 3.02 litres per 100 kilometers.

This beat the previous Guiness World Record by 0.44 litres per 100 kilometers.

We should mention that the US-spec Passat is different thatn the European-Spec one, the official combined average fuel consumption for the US one being 5.4 litres per 100 kilometers.

The test car did receive a slight modification, namely a set of Continental low rolling resistance tyres, according to a Volkswagen spokesperson.

This record breaking test drive was meant to test the efficiency of Volkswagen’s production diesel engines when they’re paired with the maker’s six-speed manual gearbox; the drive also showed how much fuel consumption depends on the driver, because that is also crucially important.

Wayne Gerdes, part of the driver team that drove the car and also a renowned ‘hyper-miler’ in the U.S., has a tip for motorists looking to maximize their vehicle’s fuel efficiency. The tip is to look ahead in traffic so as to plan gradual rather than sudden braking and accelerations, and also to drive slower.

These are important things to consider nowadays as gas prices are starting to steadily climb all across the globe, and many people are looking for increasingly fuel efficient vehicles.

This trend is also apparent in the types of vehicles appearing from the major car makers, and the amount of money that they’re investing into the research and development of fuel-efficiency related technology.

But as we mentioned earlier, quite a bit of a vehicles’ fuel efficiency will depend on the driver and his or her driving style.

Related articles:

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read more:
Geely-logo
Geely to start selling Volvo co-developed vehicles

The Chinese car maker Geely will be starting to sell vehicles co-developed with Volvo from 2015, after purchasing Volvo from Ford, back in 2010.

Close