Honda sets new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for fuel efficiency, averaging 2.82 litres per 100km (100.31mpg) in 13,498km (8,387 mile) drive across 24 EU countries.

Honda has set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for ‘Lowest fuel consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars)’, recording an average 2.82 litres per 100km (100.31mpg) over 13,498km (8,387 miles), in a 25 day drive across all 24 EU contiguous countries.

Honda has set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for ‘Lowest fuel consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars)’, recording an average 2.82 litres per 100km (100.31mpg) over 13,498km (8,387 miles), in a 25 day drive across all 24 EU contiguous countries.

Behind the wheel of a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC for the entire journey were two members of Honda’s European Research & Development (R&D) team, Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren, who took on the challenge to further demonstrate the impressive real-world fuel economy of the Tourer.

The remarkable 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 1500km (932 miles) on each tank of fuel, at a total fuel cost for the whole journey of just 645 Euros* (£459).

The team set out on their epic road trip from Aalst, Belgium, on Monday June 1^st, navigating the continent in a clockwise direction. They returned to their start point on Thursday June 25^th, recording the incredible fuel economy figures which exceed the Tourer’s quoted efficiency of 3.8 litres per 100km (74.3mpg), by more than 25%.

Fergal McGrath comments: “It was tough, but we really enjoyed it, and setting this new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title has made all of the hard work worthwhile. This was a huge team effort so I’d like to thank everyone involved for all of their commitment and support. After spending so much time behind the wheel Julian and I are just happy to be back behind our desks for a while!”

The official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title is ‘Lowest Fuel Consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries’, measured in litres per 100km and miles per gallon calculated over the entire journey.
Under the rules the same two drivers must be in the car for the whole journey, giving Fergal and Julian, Honda R&D colleagues of some 18 years and based in the UK, the challenge of driving an average of approximately 600km, taking around 7.5 hours, each day.

Based on strict and rigorous guidelines, the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 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 to prove that it has done so. 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 and stolen vehicle recovery expert, TRACKER (part of the Tantalum Corporation).

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. This was judged by independent witnesses at the beginning and end of the attempt. Fuelling was carried out at regular filling stations, with the tank filled to the maximum at each stop to ensure no weight advantage. Additionally, tyres were inflated to the recommended pressures and the wheel alignment set to factory specification to represent the experience of the regular customer.

The team, both amateur drivers, were also keen to show that through adopting some simple but very effective driving techniques, anybody could achieve such remarkable fuel economy. They simply used some very logical methods including careful and 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 at all times. Driving speed was always within the law and keeping up with traffic conditions.

Kate Saxton, Manager – PR Communications at Honda Motor Europe Ltd comments: "This is an incredible achievement and the team should all be very proud of the efforts that they have put in to set this new GUINNESS WORLD RECORD. Driving the equivalent distance from their home in the UK to Australia in just 25 days is a huge challenge very few would take on. The fuel economy figures are remarkable – particularly when you consider that this is not a small car, but a tourer with class-leading load space and vast practicality.”

Source;
http://hondanews.eu/eu/en/cars/media/pressreleases/57250/honda-sets-new-guinness-world-records-title-for-fuel-efficiency-averaging-282-litres-per-100km-10031

Honda Targets New Guinness World Records Title For Fuel Efficiency With 13,000km Drive Across Europe

Honda will put the real-world fuel economy of its super-efficient 1.6 i-DTEC engine to the ultimate test in a 13,000km drive across all 24 contiguous EU countries, with the aim of setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for fuel efficiency.

On Monday 1st June 2015, two members of Honda’s European Research & Development (R&D) team will climb into a Honda Civic Tourer and set out on an epic journey from Aalst, Belgium. Heading towards the Netherlands and Germany, their trip will see them navigate the Continent in a clockwise direction, with the aim of returning to their starting point some 25 days later, on June 25th, having covered a planned total of 13,614km.

The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title attempt comes on the back of several independent tests which have proven Honda’s 1.6 i-DTEC engine to consistently out-perform its quoted fuel efficiency in real-world driving conditions. Keen to once again underline this performance and in the challenging spirit for which the brand is famed, Honda aims to set a benchmark with a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title never before attempted in Europe.

Under the rules of the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title attempt, the same two drivers must be in the car for every kilometre of the journey. Step forward Honda R&D colleagues of some 18 years, Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren, based at Honda’s European manufacturing facility in Swindon, UK. The pair volunteered to take up the challenge and will be charged with driving an average 592km, taking around 7.5 hours each day.

Fergal McGrath comments: “We are very much looking forward to the record attempt, and while we’re excited we’re both a little nervous about the scale of the task that awaits us. A huge amount of planning has gone into taking on this challenge and we look forward to what we hope will be a successful result when we return to Brussels on June 25th. But we’ve got more than 170 hours behind the wheel to contend with first!”

The official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title is ‘Lowest Fuel Consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries’, measured in litres per 100km and miles per gallon calculated over the entire journey. If successful the new record will apply to all cars, including hybrid and electric models.

Based on strict and rigorous guidelines, the record attempt requires the car to enter each of the 24 countries specified, collecting a range of evidence including a fuel/mileage logbook, GPS readings, video, photographs and independent witness signatures to prove that it has done so.

To ensure accurate monitoring of the route, journey time and distance driven, the record car has been fitted with a tracking device, provided by fleet telematics and stolen vehicle recovery expert, TRACKER (part of the Tantalum Corporation). The unit will provide a superior level of journey information, in real-time to ensure that Honda can supply robust and reliable automated data-evidence to meet the requirements stipulated by GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS. Supporters will even be able to follow the progression of the two drivers live by visiting http://www.tracker.co.uk/RealFuelChallenge.

The car which attempts the record must be a standard model in every respect, with no modifications to give an advantage. This will be judged by an independent witness at the beginning and end of the record attempt. The car can only travel by road, therefore the route does not extend to the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, which make up the remainder of the 28 EU countries. In order to ensure no unfair advantage by reducing weight, the tank of the car must be filled to the maximum at each fuel stop.

Kate Saxton of Honda Motor Europe comments: “Since its launch in 2013 we have seen the 1.6 i-DTEC engine consistently over-perform on real-world fuel efficiency in our Civic, Civic Tourer and CR-V models, and this is our opportunity to put it to the ultimate test on a huge scale. We are very confident of a great result and we wish the team all the very best of luck as they take on the challenge.”

The 24 countries which are covered in the route, in alphabetical order, are as follows: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Source;
http://www.houseofjapan.com/auto-moto/honda-targets-new-guinness-world-records-title-for-fuel-efficiency-with-13-000km-drive-across-europe

Honda tops automakers in study on fuel economy

By Dee-Ann Durbin, The Associated Press

Every new-car window sticker shows the estimated cost of fuel for a year, but that figure may not reflect the distance you drive. A new survey does that math for you.

GasBuddy.com, a website that uses data from volunteers, gas stations and other sources to keep track of gas prices, ranked more than 750 vehicles from the 2013 model year based on the cost in the U.S. of fuel per mile driven. The survey used the average gas price in July - $3.59 US per gallon - and measured vehicles based on their combined city and highway mileage, as calculated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Honda vehicles performed best, averaging 12.8 cents per mile. General Motors' GMC brand was worst, averaging 21.2 cents.

After Honda, the most efficient brands were Kia, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi and Toyota. The worst performers, after GMC, were Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, Jaguar, Infiniti, Chevrolet, Dodge, Porsche and Chrysler.

GMC spokesman Brian Goebel pointed out that the brand's lineup is all trucks and SUVs, and lacks small cars to bring down the average. GMC's smallest vehicle is the Acadia mid-size SUV, which gets 19 mpg and costs 15 cents per mile to fuel it up.

Source;
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Honda+tops+automakers+study+fuel+economy/8796876/story.html