Legendary driver and multiple Australian Rally Champion Ed Ordynski took on the challenge of driving a 1.4 litre i20 Active from Sydney to Brisbane on a single tank of fuel.
Navigating the notorious Pacific Highway, heading north along the east coast from Sydney, during peak NSW school holiday traffic and sharing the road with the seemingly endless parade of caravans, trailers and trucks.
No contrived routes were permitted, no driving with aerodynamic calculations, no tricks or treats, just a plan to drive as efficiently as possible, simulating a real-world driving conditions in the hope of making it to Brisbane on one tank of fuel.
The i20 equipped itself well, due to the latest generation design of its high performance engine, including continuously variable valve timing (CVVT), an aluminium block and offset crankshaft.
Past Brisbane, along the Sunshine coast, through Maryborough and Childers, until the Queensland city of Bundaberg, some 1269 km from the start in Sydney, became the i20′s final destination. The i20 had travelled the distance on a single tank of fuel (53.63 litres)* and delivered outstanding fuel economy of 4.23L/100km (66.78 mpg).
* Initial fuelling, checking and sealing of the fuel tank of the i20, and the final fuel refill was supervised by representatives of the NRMA in NSW at the commencement of the journey and the RACQ in QLD at the final destination.
Funny – it’s supposed to have a 45 litre tank.