Honda BR-V

Use the 1.5 i-DTEC well and you’ll be richly rewarded

LIKE THE HONDA BR-V.

I For me, it ticks many boxes. It’s spacious and feels so too and it rides well too. But the party piece here has to be that 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine under the bonnet. Its 98.6bhp and 200Nm peak output may not sound like a whole lot but I recently saw a different set of numbers that had me stumped.

Recently, on a trip to Mumbai and back I suddenly saw the figure 24.1 in the trip computer with the average fuel economy readout! It shocked me enough to pull over and take a photograph. It also got me thinking. Was it all down to the engine that I was at the receiving end of this phenomenal fuel economy or did my driving have something to do with it too? A bit of both would probably be the honest answer.

With loads of torque packed low down the rev range, the 1.5 i-DTEC has excellent driveability, which means less shifting of gears and less mashing of the throttle to the metal to get going. So, it certainly had the potential for high fuel economy even before I got to the driver’s seat. But once my right foot was on the pedal, it was up to me to use that potential. In this case, and the following day, when I drove with a relatively light right foot and used the momentum of the vehicle as much as I could I was richly rewarded. Moot point? Use it wisely and the rewards are rich for owners of the BR-V diesel in these days of fuel price increases. ⌧

Date acquired October 2016 Duration of test 2 months

Total mileage 10,482km Mileage this month 1282km

Overall kmpl 22.2kmpl Costs this month Nil