Honda diesel sets new Guinness record for fuel efficiency, averaging 83 mpg US in 8,387-mile drive across 24 EU countries
07 July 2015
Honda has set a new Guinness World Records title for “Lowest fuel consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars)”, recording an average 83 mpg US (2.82 l/100 km) over 8,387 miles (13,498 km), in a 25-day drive across all 24 EU contiguous countries. (Earlier post.) The car achieved an average 932 miles (1,500 km) on each tank of fuel, at a total fuel cost for the whole journey of just £459 (US$716).
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 real-world fuel economy of the Tourer.
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The team set out from Aalst, Belgium, on 1 June, navigating the continent in a clockwise direction. They returned to their start point on Thursday 25 June, recording the fuel economy figures which exceed the Tourer’s quoted efficiency of 61.9 mpg US (3.8 liters per 100km) by more than 25%.
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 380 miles (612 km), taking around 7.5 hours, each day.
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. Fueling was carried out at regular filling stations, with the tank filled to the maximum at each stop to ensure no weight advantage. Additionally, tires 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.
Civic Tourer. Honda introduced the Civic Tourer as a response to changing European market conditions for the C-segment estate market. The development team for the Civic Tourer carried out customer clinics in Europe before the development process began, in order to confirm what is important to customers when choosing an estate. This research identified two main target customer groups for the Civic Tourer; families raising young children who are upgrading from smaller categories or from the used car market; and customers with children who have left home, who are downsizing from the traditional higher category.
The new 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engine was the first from Honda’s next generation Earth Dreams Technology series to be introduced in Europe. The 1.6 i-DTEC engine, with a compression ratio of 16:1, provides 120 PS (118 hp, 88 kW) of power and 300 N·m (221 lb-ft) of torque.
Honda’s 1.6-liter i-DTEC features an aluminum cylinder head joined to an open deck aluminum block, weighing 47kg (104 lbs) less than the 2.2 liter i-DTEC engine. All individual components were redesigned to minimize their weight and size, and advanced production techniques helped reduce weight even further.
The thickness of the cylinder walls was reduced to 8mm, down from 9mm on the 2.2 liter i-DTEC. In addition, lighter pistons and connection rods were used.
The Civic Tourer offers Honda’s Eco Assist technology to help owners drive at optimum efficiency, based on insight that different driving styles can create as much as a 15% variance in fuel economy. The system uses the car’s speedometer to advise drivers how their driving style is impacting on fuel economy. If the car is being driven efficiently, the dashboard glows green. If the driver slightly exceeds the best level of throttle control, the dashboard will glow white/green. Finally, during heavy acceleration and deceleration, it will glow white.
The system is further enhanced with the option of ECON mode, which once activated alters the mapping of the drive-by-wire throttle system to ensure a smooth increase in torque for a more relaxing drive and greater fuel efficiency.
To further enhance efficiency, Idle Stop technology is standard on all Civic Tourer models with a manual transmission; a seamless system which can contribute up to a 5 g/km of CO2 saving for the diesel engine.
Honda should bring this diesel to the US since the chevy cruze is now diesel. And the cruze is about to enter production with a 1.6 litre diesel.
Posted by: thomas p | 07 July 2015 at 04:09 AM
Thomas,
As with the Cruze's diesel, Honda would probably need to make major modifications to this unit to comply with US environmental laws. I doubt it would be worth the effort, the regular gasoline Civic is already cheap to run and long-lived.
Posted by: Bernard | 07 July 2015 at 04:51 AM
A 100 mph ICEV may not be too far away if weight can be reduced by another 50% or so with improved-less rolling-resistance and less drag.
Posted by: HarveyD | 07 July 2015 at 01:44 PM
The fuel economy numbers are not as impressive as the cost of the fuel. If I did the math right, their average cost of fuel was over US$7 per US gal. Makes the $2.91/gal. I paid for my last fill up seem cheap...
Posted by: Diesel Dan | 09 July 2015 at 08:19 AM
Harvey,
I rather fear that all these efforts, like VW's tour of the USA reported elsewhere here, are only going to encourage people to drive their ICEVs further and more often, when we really need them to reduce such activity, don't we ? Lower CO2 per mile means little if more miles are being covered.Europe's answer, higher priced fuel, might just be what is called for, Dan. Are we all trying to avoid Climate change or what ?
Posted by: Peterww | 14 July 2015 at 09:02 AM