THE 2.3L TWIN TURBO ENGINE IS IMPRESSIVELY FRUGAL, SIPPING CLOSE TO ITS CLAIMED 7.9 LITRES
They all look pretty close when thumbing through a map, but conceivably a day or more apart once some challenging outback roads enter the equation.
The enormity of the task ahead hits somewhere pounding north along the Stuart Highway, with kangaroos risking their lives for some roadside greenery that is a rare sight in one of the most barren parts of the country. Sure, getting to the Red Centre that consumes a sizeable swathe of Australia’s interior is a big task, but finding the location of five dead centres is next level.
Our weapon of choice is the Mercedes-benz X-class ute. Our top-of-the-range X250d tops-out well into $70,000, adding some (real) leather and 19-inch wheels to the already impressive luxury tally. For the 110km/h – and, later, 130km/h – run up the highway it’s a comfy machine, its noise suppression impressive over longer stints. That’s a bigger deal than it may seem, with the lack of white noise a bonus for the many hours spent with cruise control engaged. The 2.3-litre twin-turbo engine is also impressively frugal, sipping close to its claimed 7.9 litres per 100km average over the faster sections. It means we can eke almost 1000km from its 80-litre tank, at least when driving it gently. That the fuel light insists on blinking to life 200km before we’re likely to grind to a halt is a tad OTT. Still, at least it allows time for planning ahead.
First stop is Alice Springs, the closest thing we’ve got to a sizeable town in the centre of Australia. With a population approaching 30,000 it’s officially way smaller than the likes of Bendigo, Bathurst, Mildura,