Ford Ranger Sets Fuel-Efficiency Record in U.K.
Ranger travels over a thousand miles on a single tank of gas during drive through Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Across the pond, Europe’s best-selling pickup, the Ford Ranger, and the all-new Ford Fiesta hatchback have set three new eco-driving records at fuel-efficiency challenges. The amazing feats include two new records for Fiesta at the U.K.’s famous annual MPG Marathon.
The action kicked off with Norwegian duo of Knut Wilthil and Henrik Borchgrevink pushing the limits of a Ranger 2.2‑litre TDCi diesel to set an unconfirmed world record for the furthest distance travelled in a pickup on a single tank of fuel. By carefully planning their route and taking advanced measures like only parking on downward slopes when taking breaks (enabling more fuel-efficient restarts), the experienced hypermilers covered 1,616 kilometres through Norway, Sweden, and Finland, at an average speed of 60 km/h.
Despite challenging weather conditions, Wilthil and Borchgrevink achieved just under 5.0 l/100 km fuel-efficiency during the 30-hour drive, a 23% improvement on the model’s official figure.
Powered by Ford’s 120 PS TDCi diesel engine and driven by journalist Paul Clifton and engineer Ian McKean, the Ford Fiesta won the MPG Marathon Overall Champion title by averaging 2.3 l/100 km fuel-efficiency during 570 kilometres of driving, a 12% improvement on the previous record and a 34% improvement on the model’s official fuel-efficiency figure.
Driven by former-Ford works rally team members Andy Dawson and Andrew Marriott, Ford’s multi-award-winning Fiesta with the 125 PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine averaged 2.9 l/100 km fuel-efficiency to be crowned Petrol Champion, a 14% improvement on the previous record and a 33% improvement on the model’s official fuel-efficiency figure.
“Using less fuel also means reduced emissions, limiting motorists’ environmental impact,” says Dawson, whose hypermiling driving techniques helped maximise fuel-efficiency, which help improve the models’ fuel-efficiency figures by one-third, which is equivalent to gaining an extra 14 litres of free fuel when filling the Fiesta’s 42-litre fuel tank.