Most frugal car in the real world? Autocar finds out with a race...

Manufacturers make big claims about their fuel economy figures. Occasionally, even these claims can be bettered, as Toyota's now closed blog for the iQ managed back in January, extracting 72mpg when Toyota themselves only claimed 65mpg. Often though, real-world driving prevents us from extracting the optimum economy from our cars.

Autocar's test then perhaps sheds a little more relevance on achieving high miles to the gallon. Armed with a Ford Fiesta Econetic, a Vauxhall Corsa Ecoflex, an Insight, a Prius, a BMW 116d and a Smart ForTwo CDi, they each hit the track at Bruntingthorpe with a single litre of fuel and a driver trying to achieve as many miles in the hour as possible. By working to distance rather than outright economy, it avoided the whole race becoming a slow eco-trundle.

The most efficient at the end of the hour? Ford's Fiesta Econetic. It achieved almost sixty miles at the hands of Matt Prior, equivalent - unsurprisingly - to roughly 60mpg. A little way short of Ford's 76mpg combined figure perhaps, but much more representative of what drivers can expect in their daily grind, and a long way from shabby.

The other cars in the test all managed to average around 55mpg, including the diminutive Smart despite being driven pedal-to-the-metal until it spluttered to a halt after 53 minutes.

The full story can be found in the 30th September issue of Autocar, out now. Alternatively, you can watch the video:

(Picture credits: Tarmac)

Volkswagen 1-litre concept one step closer

News arrives via AutoBlogGreen that Volkswagen's 1-litre concept is still under development and nearing production reality.
The concept, now being named the L1, will be on display at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show and Volkswagen have released more details about the car and the engine that will be powering it in a press release that you can read in full on ABG's page.

The 1L has a 0.8 litre TDI developed from Volkswagen's new 1.6 TDI that makes its debut in the new Golf and Passat BlueMotion. Along with automatic stop-start, a 0.195 coefficient of drag and thanks to an all-in weight of only 380kg, the 1L is claimed to sip one US gallon of fuel every 170 miles, or 204mpg imperial (and only 36 grammes per kilometer of CO2). This works out at a little over the original 1l/100km that Volkswagen claimed, though I'm sure owners wouldn't complain as the eventual figure is still only 1.38 litres per 100km. Thanks to the light weight and slippery shape, the 1L also manages 100mph.
Volkswagen are now giving the car a tentative 2013 release date. Should give you time to save up...

(Image credits: Volkswagen)

Guerilla marketing for Alfa MiTo; New Multiair MiTo

Take a walk through Jesmond in Newcastle-upon-Tyne at the moment and your eyes might be drawn towards the pavement. Normally, it's nothing particularly special, but recently some rather unorthodox adverts for Alfa's MINI rival, the MiTo, have appeared on some of the paving slabs.

With Alfa's baby being aimed at the younger and more fashion-conscious types, these adverts in the affluent and student-heavy area of Jesmond are a great example of guerilla marketing. The images are created using a technique that involves cleaning an sandblasting the ground through a template. There are apparently 1300 similar adverts across the UK.
The pavement adverts also coincide with a first look, via What Car?, at the new MiTo Multiair, an ultra-clean and efficient MiTo using advanced 1.4 petrol engines. Instead of a conventional camshaft, the MultiAir engine uses a series of oil-fed solenoids which can precisely meter out fuel in any given situation. As well as improving economy by 10% and reducing NOx emissions by 60%, the system apparently improves throttle response and increases power and torque, especially at lower revs.

(Picture credits: Alfa Romeo and Tarmac)

80mpg from diesel-powered first-gen Insight

Yes, you read that correctly. AutoBlogGreen has released news that a company called Red Light Racing has installed Volkswagen's 1.2 litre, 3-cylinder Pumpe Düse TDI in a first-generation Honda Insight and the net result is 80mpg in US gallons - a staggering 96mpg imperial.

The engine has been taken from Volkswagen's Lupo 3L, a model that was only available in mainland Europe and itself made 94mpg imperial, equivalent to 3 litres/100km. The Lupo however was solely diesel-powered - and Red Light Racing state that they haven't even hooked up the Insight's hybrid motor to the diesel unit yet and once they do there could be another 15-20% improvement.

The Lupo 3L was highly modified from the standard Lupo TDI - like the Insight, it used aluminium in much of its construction, and also in common with the Insight it used low rolling-resistance tyres and a stop-start function to save fuel when stopped in traffic. The engine produces 61bhp and makes 140Nm of torque, which is 9bhp less than the Insight's 1.0 litre petrol IMA unit but a useful 27Nm more torque. Coincidentally, both Lupo 3L and Insight weigh in the region of 850kg, so the engine seems ideal for use in the Insight, though according to Red Light Racing the installation naturally wasn't too straightforward.

Diesel clatter aside, the new engine should provide very pleasant driving characteristics too. The final quote goes to Red Light Racing, clearly a company after Tarmac's heart: "The main idea was to take existing hardware, hack it, and make a vehicle that could be produced by major manufacturers or individuals that would deliver tremendous fuel economy without a tremendous leap in technology. I believe we succeeded."

(Image credits: AutoBlogGreen and Wikipedia)

More T25 news - Gordon Murray's microcar driven

The new issue of Autocar magazine, and for that matter their website, brings us more information of Gordon Murray's fascinating T25 project, a city car designed to have a construction to destruction carbon footprint 40% smaller than that of the average city car.

The biggest bit of news is that the car will seat three and not two as previously suspected, in a McLaren F1-style centrally-seated driver, flanked by two passengers - despite the car being significantly smaller than even a Smart ForTwo.

More interesting is that Autocar have managed to drive a body-less prototype powered by a 660cc three-cylinder engine with a Smart-style semi-auto gearbox. The full test can only be read in Autocar's magazine, but Autocar columnist and feature writer Steve Cropley seemed mighty impressed by the mule's capabilities - including flat cornering, great steering, a good ride and fantastic feel to the controls. Not only this, but the car can apparently turn in only six metres.

Of course, the mule isn't exactly much to behold, but that it can impress in such a basic state is very important - the driving characteristics of the Smart and rival Toyota iQ haven't exactly come in for much praise, and nor have their prices. To this end, Murray is still touting £6,000 as an entry-level figure.

In other T25-related news, another teaser-shot of the car has been released, showing what the front of the car is shaping up to look like. It's probably not going to be much of a looker, but there's still a lot to come from the T25 project so we're holding our breath.

(Picture credits: Autocar and Gordon Murray)