BMW’s greenest ever 3-Series achieved a staggering range of 1,013 miles on a single tank of fuel as part of a road challenge run between London and Munich.
Driven by the Sunday Times’ Tom Ford, a 320d EfficientDynamics saloon filled up at the Channel Tunnel, made it to Munich and as far as Lille on the return leg of the journey before needing to be refuelled.
To put it in a UK geographic context, the distance achieved would have meant being able to drive from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and still having 200 miles range left in the tank.
Just as impressive was that the driver didn’t use efficient driving techniques such as coasting, or drive deliberately slowly for the trip, coverage of which appeared in yesterday’s Sunday Times newspaper.
Although switching the air con and radio off as a concession to fuel saving, Tom managed a reasonable motorway pace all the way there and back, proving that in the real world, the new BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon delivers what it promises on paper – an official combined figure of 68.9mpg and CO2 emissions of only 109g/km.
On the way to Munich, Tom achieved highs of 75.9mpg, and didn’t dip below 65mpg for the entire trip. With an average speed of 59.3mph, the car achieved 68.9mpg overall.
He 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.”
For drivers who choose a BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon, there is no VED to pay for the first year of purchase due to its low CO2 figure and a 13 per cent benefit-in-kind company car tax rating and sporting ability thanks to its 163bhp. For a business buying one, the sub 110g/km emissions mean 100 per cent first year writing down allowances, allowing the model’s full first year depreciation against to be offset against Corporation Tax.
To watch a short video of the Sunday Times 1,000-mile drive log on to: www.facebook.com/sundaytimesingear
