Peugeot took overall victory in the UK’s 2015 MPG Marathon event when a new 208 diesel five-door hatchback, driven in real-world driving conditions over 385 miles (619.5km ), achieved an average fuel economy of 104.5mpg (2.7 litres/100km ).
Not only did the Peugeot 208 record the highest MPG figure of any car taking part in the event, it also registered the ‘Best Percentage Improvement’ with a 29 per cent improvement over official EU Directive 80/1268/EEC Combined Drive Cycle economy figures.
The winning combination saw former Peugeot Sport UK manager, Mick Linford, and part-time rally navigator Jemma Champion victorious in their Peugeot 208 BlueHDi diesel. Peugeot has been a long-standing competitor in the ALD Automotive Fleet World MPG Marathon, with 208 and 308 models previously often appearing on the podium.
The annual two-day MPG Marathon event is open to all production cars and vans. It is about man and machine working in harmony to showcase how, in real-world conditions, optimal fuel economy can be achieved. Far from crawling around at unrealistic speeds, the rules stipulate that teams must reach defined checkpoints by pre-determined times. This year’s course in Oxfordshire saw navigators negotiate hills and traffic, to challenge and mirror real-world driving experiences.
The victorious model was a new Peugeot 208 five-door hatchback, fitted with a diesel 1.6-litre BlueHDi 75bhp engine that has a declared combined drive cycle fuel economy figure of 80.7mpg (3.5 litres/100km ). It only had a few miles on the clock and therefore hardly benefitted from being run-in.
Providing standardised new car fuel economy and emissions figures is a requirement imposed on all car manufacturers by the EU Directive 80/1268/EEC. Peugeot currently has the lowest Corporate Average Fuel Emissions (CAFE ) of any volume manufacturer in Europe in 2015 and boasts 25 best-in-class lowest CO2 vehicles in its extensive range.
While the current CAFE across all brands is 124g/km, the Peugeot range average is just 106.3g/km. Earlier this year a Peugeot 208 fitted with the new 1.6-litre BlueHDi 100bhp engine and Stop & Start technology set a new long-distance fuel consumption record. Staged at Peugeot’s test circuit at Belchamp, France, and strictly supervised by independent adjudicators, the car averaged just over 141mpg (2.0 litres/100km ).
While it was undeniably a demonstration of optimised capability at a test circuit, the UK’s MPG Marathon result is now all the more significant, given it has been achieved in real-world driving conditions. At a time when the public’s attention is firmly focused on new car fuel economy, Peugeot’s victory shows it is perfectly possible to improve, by a significant margin, on manufacturers’ laboratory-certified fuel consumption figures.
There is an even more fuel efficient 208 being introduced into the Peugeot 208 line-up in October with the 1.6-litre BlueHDi diesel 75bhp gaining Stop & Start technology, offering a combined drive cycle fuel economy of 94.2mpg (3.0 litres/100km ).
