Peugeot 208 sets fuel economy record
The firm’s efforts were completed using a “strictly standard” example of its most efficient 208, which features a 1.6-litre diesel engine with 99bhp and official economy of 94.2mpg.
While the record was not set in ’real world’ conditions, being confined to Peugeot’s test track at Belchamp in France, it was verified by the French Type Approval Authority, UTAC (Union Technique de l’Automobile, du motocycle et du Cycle).
The 208 ran for 38 hours in the hands of several drivers, each of whom took shifts of three to four hours behind the wheel.
Rolling on the customer-ready car’s standard Michelin Energy Saver+ tyres and featuring a special aerodynamics-boosting rear spoiler that helps reduce drag behind the car, the 208 used just 9.45 gallons of fuel during the test.
At today’s average diesel price of 119.9p per litre, the 1,337-mile journey, almost the equivalent of driving from London to Bari in southern Italy, would theoretically have cost £51.56.
On sale from July in Ireland, the new Peugeot 208 offers both exceptionally economical and efficient Euro6 petrol and diesel engines; the petrol range offers remarkably well-contained values from 97g/km CO2 emissions, while the BlueHDi range is now entirely below 95g/km.
