A New World Record?

Britain's Sunday Times staff reporter Gavin Conway may now claim bragging rights to the Guinness World Book of Records. Conway has recently driven 1,526 continuous miles on 20.4 gallons, apparently the greatest distance driven so far by a general production passenger car on one tank of fuel. Nearly 75 miles per gallon!

If we do a quick check on the math with a calculator, Conway's wheels - a brand new Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion − gets exactly 74.8 miles per gallon. Not too shabby considering the next runner up is Toyota's latest generation Prius hybrid at around 72. Less gasoline, fancy batteries, and endlessly sophisticated circuitry the Toyota requires to blend gasoline and electricity together, the new Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion relies only on a severely efficient diesel engine to breeze through the miles while sipping fuel.

Yes, Diesel is Very Efficient - Lasts Long, Too

If this all sounds too unreal, then see how well my earlier 2003 model Volkswagen Jetta Diesel fared in my previous article. Add to the efficiency of VW diesel's impressive design, there is also the fact that a diesel engine may easily outlast the car's chassis. All told, you have yourself a durable little car. My turbodiesel injection (TDI) Jetta still gets 43 mpg (in town) and 46 on the road - after more than 200,000 miles on the engine!

With Volkswagen's latest release of its BlueMotion Passat, we'll see more people driving down the street with a smug grin on their faces, and much fewer people stopping off at the pump!

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