There used to be a time when car makers could boast about the speed of their cars, the power they make and how fast they can eat up miles. Now though, it’s all about miles per gallon, the distance a car can cover one one tank of fuel, stuff like that. This is where small, diesel cars like the Suzuki Swift DDiS rule. This little Japanese just set a new fuel economy record in New Zealand.

driven by motoring journalist Donn Anderson the DDiS went from Auckland to Wellington and then headed back, covering a distance of 1,240km (764 miles) on one tank of fuel. He didn’t make it home, mind you, the car ran out of fuel 60 km away. Still, given the 42 liter tank, Suzuki Swift DDiS managed to average 3.36 litres/100km or 83.4 mpg across the whole journey.

That is remarkable, but not just as remarkable as the record it set last year in the UK At the annual MPG Marathon the car achieved 86.4 mpg over the 370 mile test route. You won’t get that in your normal daily driving, but even if you get like 60 mpg that is still plenty.