Fifth Gear presenter Tom Ford (has nothing to do with the fashion brand!) successfully completed a challenge in which he had to drive from the Channel Tunnel in UK to Munich in Germany and then come back, on one tank of fuel! The car that managed to do this was a BMW 320d EfficiantDynamics which covered a distance of 1,013 miles averaging 68.9mpg.
They say that the car never went below 65mpg for the entire trip and topped 75.9mpg, even though Tom was not on a eco-driving mood and was doing the normal highway pace with an average speed of 59.3mph. He did keep the air con and radio off though.
BMW 320d EfficientDynamics is powered by a 163 hp four-cylinder diesel engine with 360Nm of torque, 0 to 60 mph time of 8.2 seconds and top speed of 137mph.
Tom Ford said : “I was prepared for this car to fail in the real world. I was wrong. Although I did try and be careful and drive in a feather-footed manner, I did cruise at a reasonable 65ish mph on the autoroutes and autobahns, so faster than the usual economy run pace.
“Think about it in the context of everyday motoring: comfortably more than 1,000 miles on one tank of diesel means just 12 fills a year for the average motorist – and even driven normally I still think you’re looking at 750-800 miles per fill. BMW’s EfficientDynamics: it does what it says on the tin.”
He added: “It’s difficult to tell the difference between this model and a standard 320d in terms of driving performance which is brilliant. It means that as well as the obvious financial advantages, this special 320d is a car for the environmentally conscious who still want a car that drives superbly.”
