The extinction of the dinosaur has been a rather longer and protracted event than was first thought. It’s only now that we no longer see or hear huge V12s, V8s or V6s rumbling down the High Street that we finally realise that they are no more and indeed if there was more we could do to prevent their passing. Where once the long straights of the A1 or the winding, beautiful roads of the Yorkshire Dales were their hunting grounds there is now an emptiness, silence. It is into this rather sterile environment that the various manufacturers are now tying to convince us to part with our hard earned. In the past, if you were asked about the mpg of your car it was because the enquirer was a little odd and perhaps not to be engaged in conversation with but now, with fuel costs in the UK currently sky high, mpg is the new King of the castle.
So what have Citroën been up too? In celebration of @MotorMartin1 driving the new Cactus this weekend, Citroën have been sharing some quite stunning returns from their funky (and I use that particular word with reservations,) spiky, plant based motor.
Citroën informed @MotorMartin1 that a Citroën C4 Cactus BlueHDi 100 S&S manual car has just returned an outstanding 103.28mpg in the 2015 ALD Automotive Fleet World MPG Marathon – the first Citroën ever to achieve more than 100mpg in this event.
The Euro 6 compliant C4 Cactus Feel BlueHDi 100 S&S was entered in Class 3 (for diesel-engined cars with CO2 emissions of 100g/km or less). In this hotly contested class, the BlueHDi 100 powered Cactus driven by John Kendall, Editor of International Fleet World, with co-driver Dr. Paul Nieuwenhuis, performed exceptionally well. The resulting 103.28mpg put it third in class with an impressive 24.29% improvement on its official 83.10mpg combined cycle fuel economy figure. It also achieved the third best outright mpg in the event, just 1.22mpg behind the winning BlueHDi 75 powered Peugeot 208.
Also competing in the ALD Automotive Fleet World MPG Marathon 2015, was a C4 Cactus Flair PureTech 110 S&S manual entered in Class 2 (for petrol-engined cars with CO2 emissions over 100g/km). Driven by Steve Moody, Editor of Fleet World, with Fleet World’s Jenna Alsos as co-driver, the petrol-engined Cactus also performed well. This car returned 63.91mpg, an improvement of 6.34% on its official 60.10mpg combined cycle fuel economy figure.
John Kendall said; “Both Steve and I were extremely impressed with the fuel economy of our respective Citroën C4 Cactus cars. As the driver of the Euro 6 BlueHDi 100 Cactus, I was delighted to achieve over 103mpg.”
Bek Hassan, Citroën’s Brand Director in the UK, commented; “With all eyes on new vehicle fuel consumption at the moment, Citroën is delighted with the very strong performance of both its C4 Cactus cars in the demanding ALD Automotive Fleet World MPG Marathon. This independently run trial demonstrates how the latest Citroën models can deliver exceptional fuel economy.”
All of the 2015 MPG Marathon competitors had to visit a number of fixed locations within a certain period of time to reach their final destination on both days of the event. Otherwise, the route taken was the choice of the individual competitors.
So there you have it, the Citroën Cactus is the new V12, or V8, now I’m confused…
Is it Saturday yet Citroën, can I have the keys to my Cactus? I’ve a thimble full of fuel and lots of miles to drive. I look forward to sharing my findings. Can these amazing figures be in any way achievable during ‘real life’ motoring?
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Where will you go?