Who is Australia's Most Fuel Efficient Motoring Journalist?

BOTANY, AUSTRALIA – Aug 17, 2012: Economical driving is not hard if the results from the latest Think Blue Challenge are anything to go by.

Twelve motoring journalists spent a day in Canberra searching for efficiency this week. The result: they achieved remarkable fuel consumption but it was GoAuto and Wheels Magazine contributor Byron Mathioudakis who led the field.

On the real-world driving course designed to test the participants and their vehicles, the Australian motoring journalists drove four vehicles on two test loops in and around Canberra.

The vehicles were all equipped with Volkswagen’s BlueMotion Technologies and covered a range of classes from the well-known Golf 103TDI, the versatile Tiguan 103TDI, the sleek CC 125TDI and the luxurious Touareg V6 TDI.

During the course of the day, the official combined fuel consumption figures for all models were calculated to find the most economical driver over the four vehicles.

The most drastic fuel savings on the day were achieved in the CC 125TDI and the Golf 103TDI. The CC 125TDI only consumed an average of 4.4 litres per 100km on its best run with the Golf 103TDI returning the lowest average fuel consumption for the day with only 3.9 litres per 100km. Both models managed to consume 1.3 litres less than their officially listed combined fuel consumption.

The Tiguan and Touareg drive program also incorporated an off-road section to really test the competitors’ resolve in delivering fuel efficiency in all situations. Even with the mountainous terrain the figures achieved were exceptional, the best fuel consumption result for the Tiguan was some 1.0 litre lower than the official combined fuel consumption figure.

Byron Mathioudakis delivered a convincing performance on the day and took out the overall win with a total average combined fuel consumption of only 5.47 litres per 100km across all four vehicles.