LOS ANGELES, June 26 – A Passat TDI has set a new fuel economy benchmark of 77.99mpg (3 liters per 100km) in a journey around the US.

The 8122-mile (13,000 km) journey, which took in all 48 of America’s mainland states and was completed in 17 days, not only beats the existing record for a diesel-powered vehicle (average fuel economy 67.9mpg) but also the existing hybrid vehicle record of 64.6mpg.

In all, drivers Wayne Gerdes and Bob Winger used a total of just 104.94 gallons (397.2 liters) of fuel to complete the trip and only made minor adjustments to what is otherwise a stock car. The biggest change was a special set of Continental PureContact low rolling-resistance tires that improve fuel efficiency.

Gerdes, founder of cleanmpg.com, is one of the world’s leading ‘hypermilers’ – people who are devoted to pushing cars to the limits in terms of fuel savings over ever longer distances and in developing new driving techniques to further this cause. Gerdes has set over 100 fuel efficiency world records including the existing record for driving around all 48 lower US states in a hybrid vehicle.

“We felt we had a good chance of beating the existing record with the Passat TDI,” Gerdes said, “but to smash it by averaging 77.99 mpg is really impressive and a testament to the potential of Volkswagen’s TDI Clean Diesel vehicles. Obviously, we employ some specialized techniques to achieve such figures, but there’s no reason why owners of TDI vehicles shouldn’t be able to achieve great mileage with a few simple pointers.”

Gerdes’s pointers include:

Act, don’t react
Be ready for obstacles, or changes in topography that will impact on driving and adapt accordingly rather than reacting to what’s directly in front of you.

Use gravity
Downhill momentum could be enough to take a car over the next hill without using the accelerator.

Let racers race
Don’t try to be the first away at traffic lights or intersections and don’t try to beat the lights – heavy braking and heavy acceleration are both hard on fuel economy.

Obey the speed limits
The difference in fuel economy between 55 mph and 75 mph can be as much as 30 per cent or even higher in some cars.

The new world record, which was confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records this week, has become one of the most keenly contested since the fuel crisis of 1973 which led US car makers to focus on greater fuel efficiency rather than just horsepower and top speeds. – AFP/Relaxnews