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You have probably followed the series ‘Going Nowhere Slowly’, aired on local TV a while ago. Well, recently a bevy of cars went frugally everywhere across South Africa in a titanic struggle for the title as the most the most fuel-efficient car brand and most frugal car model within each respective class …
It was a titanic, yet quite slow, struggle … For five days and over 2 500 km a cavalcade of vehicles battled it out on the highways and byways of the country for top honours as the most frugal car within their respective classes in the inaugural Wesbank SA Fuel Economy Tour in partnership with FNB.
Showcasing the advanced state of engine technology available in vehicles today, the difference in efficiency margins in the respective vehicle classes were not measured in litres or centilitres, but in millilitres or less over the course of the week … and the tussle went right down to the final fill in Cape Town.
The route started in Johannesburg at the impressive headquarters of FNB and Wesbank and it took the 40 competing vehicles from eight different manufacturers on a variety of roads from Gauteng to the Mother City via Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, and George.
Slimmest of margins
The difference between winners and losers were decided by the slimmest of margins in the daily results, and the tight contest between Renault and Suzuki for the title as the most fuel-efficient brand swung back and forth during the event.
Renault came out tops at the end of the first day and Suzuki topped the chart at the end of the second, third, and fourth days. However, at the critical final refuel in Cape
Town it was a trio of Renaults – a Captur, Duster Techroad, and a Kwid Climber – that bestowed the coveted title on the French brand – by only 0.0275 l/100 km!
The title was judged by averaging the fuel consumption of the best three performers in each of the brands that had cars in the field. The average of Renault was 5.0695 l/100 km, while the Suzuki trio of Baleno, Ignis, and Swift had a combined average of 5.0970 l/100 km. Third place went to Mahindra – the KUV 100 and two XUV 300s – ahead of Nissan – with a Qashqai, Micra, and Navara (the big doublecab unfortunately did not help the cause of the Japanese brand) – and Ford with a Fiesta, Kuga, and Ranger (ditto the Navara comment).
The vehicle achieving the lowest consumption overall was a Renault Captur 1.5-litre turbodiesel crewed by motoring journalist Wynter Murdoch and experienced rally navigator Carolyn Swan, with an average of 4.7319 l/100 km. Next best was a Toyota Aygo with a one-litre normally aspirated petrol engine, crewed by motoring journalist Carri-ann Jane and yoga instructor Roxanne Jones, taking part in their first competitive motoring competition.
The Aygo averaged 4.8328 l/100 km and the pair also won the prize for the highest placed all-female crew. Third best on consumption was the Nissan Qashqai
1.5-litre turbodiesel crewed by Diete and Eckhard Engelbrecht at 4.8526 l/100 km.
Bakkie battle
In the bakkie-class the course of the battle was at times too close to call … Competing in the class for turbodiesel double cabs with engines of less than
2 500 cc it was the Ford Ranger twolitre single-turbo model, driven by Colin Mileman and navigated by the experienced Henry Kohne eventually taking top honours with an overall average of 6.8179 l/100 km.
Its margin to the second placed Mitsubishi Triton (6.8513 l/100 km) was less than 0.5 l/100 km, with a Nissan Navara (6.9692 l/100 km) coming in third, beating a Toyota Hilux 2.4 (6.9782 l/100 km) with a meagre 0.001 l/100 km, with a Mahindra Pikup averaging 7.7867 l/100 km over the distance of 2 500 km.
Class winners
Suzuki may not have collected the overall spoils but ended up with six class wins (with an Ignis, Vitara 1.6, Vitara 1.4, Baleno, Swift Sport, and Ertiga), while Ford (Fiesta and Ranger), Hyundai (Sante Fe and Venue), Renault (Captur and Duster) and Toyota (Aygo and Hilux 2.8) all won two classes. The other class winners were Honda (HRV), Lexus (UX Hybrid) and Mahindra (KUV 100).
The competitors were monitored by the vehicle tracking and mobility solutions company Ctrack throughout the economy tour. Real-time information was continuously available to the event organisers and the system accurately measured the average speeds of the participants, as well as how long they took to complete individual timed sections.
With the system it was possible to gage if participants got lost or purposely deviated from the route, thereby providing the organisers with more control over proceedings and allowing them to make informed decisions as to what actions should be taken.
All cars were also fitted with a dashcam facing forward and another focused on the driver and the vehicle controls. The outward-facing cameras were used to monitor driving behaviour such as passing on solid lines, dangerous driving, and the like, while the interior-focused unit was to check on unacceptable driver behaviour such as shifting into neutral and freewheeling.
Penalties
Penalties were imposed for late arrival at control check points and for driving infringements at the rate of one litre of fuel for each penalty point, and yes, some competitors were severely penalised – depriving them of any chance to attain a good result.
Seen in totality the first fuel economy event in nearly a decade was a success. It was perhaps too long and drawn out, and yes, the participation of more manufacturers (such as Mazda, Peugeot/ Citroën, and Volkswagen and the premier brands Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedesbenz, and Volvo) and hybrid vehicles will give it more credibility.
Still, the objectives have been met. As chief organiser Charl Wilken of Wilken Communications commented: “The objective of this event was to provide consumers with fuel consumption figures that are relevant to going on a road trip in South Africa using main roads, and I believe we have achieved that aim.”