Traveling 1000 miles in style on a single tank of diesel
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A Jaguar
XJ, fitted with a twin-turbo V6 diesel engine, drove a total of 1000.2 miles before running the 22.45 gal tank dry. The
car recorded an average fuel economy of 44.38 mpg, a number that would put many a gasoline powered sub-compact to shame.
Even a few hybrids would be hard pressed to achieve this kind of gas mileage during highway driving. The combination of
the advanced diesel engine with the lightweight aluminum body of the XJ made the journey possible. The driver
effectively drove the length of the UK, after which he headed back to Jaguars HQ in Birmingham. I wonder if it would
run just as well on biodiesel. [Source: Motoring.Co.Za]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Plasm 10:59PM (4/23/2006)
Lame! Try 1,397 miles on 12.8 gallons of unleaded in a stock Toyota Prius:
http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynergyview/2005/fall/marathon.html
Admittedly, this was acheived using unconventional driving techniques. However, I can get 52-54 mpg just driving normally on the highway, so 44 mpg is not so impressive.
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St?ane Dumas 10:36AM (4/24/2006)
for a car of this size 44 mpg (around 5,5L/100 km) is very good, the French seems to be impressed about it, here a French article at
http://moteurnature.com/actu/uneactu.php?news_id=1134
and since this diesel engine (2.7L V6) is a joint-venture between Peugeot-Citroen and Ford, some suggest to do the same challenge with cars having the same engine Peugeot 407 coupe, 607 and Citroen C6
btw, how's the European Chrysler 300C diesel V6 do in the mileage side?
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Bruno Vanzieleghem 10:41AM (4/24/2006)
Obviously, there are cars out there that will get significantly better fuel economy, but lets compary this one to other luxury sedans. Even the new hybrid Lexus 600 will not come close to these numbers, with estimates for city and highway mileage in the low 20's.
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Todd Hershberger 10:50AM (4/24/2006)
Over 1400 miles achieved in a stock Volkswagen diesel Passat wagon TDI. Achieved with regular driving on a business trip.
1407 miles (2265 km.)
24.19 gal. (91.57 l.)
58.2 MPG
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=268702
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Charles S 11:26AM (4/24/2006)
"Obviously, there are cars out there that will get significantly better fuel economy, but lets compary this one to other luxury sedans. Even the new hybrid Lexus 600 will not come close to these numbers, with estimates for city and highway mileage in the low 20's."
Well, yes, and no.
Sure, I guess if we are going to compare one high-priced car to another, maybe comparing the Jaguar to a Lexus seem appropriate. However, since a BMW 3-series owners will not compare their vehicles to a BMW 7-series sedans, a Jaguar XJ is not really comparable to a Lexus 600, either.
Totally different in size, power, performance, and PRICE!
Is a Prius comparable to a Jaguar XJ? Prices aside, yes, they are closer in basic specs than a Lexus 600h versus the XJ.
It seems that the XJ diesel is faster in the 0-to-60 department (7.8 sec), but if I have to guess, a person will NEVER get 44 mpg for the Jaguar by having a lead-foot. So acceleration is irrelevent, *IF* we are just talking about who is king in the MPG department.
I see that the XJ has an aluminum body to cut down on weight, which a Prius is cheaper with a steel body. So if we increase the cost of a Prius by making it lighter with an aluminum body, if they are costing the same overall, would now be acceptable to compare a high-cost Prius to a Diesel Jaguar XJ?
In the end, it's not about who is better than who. If someone can afford a Jaguar XJ and want some bragging rights to a *possible* or occasional 44 mpg, GREAT! We're in a world today that people can still choose to buy what they WANT, and not what they need. As gas prices goes up, full size cars would be less and less economical or affordable.
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Auto Buff 11:13PM (4/24/2006)
44MPG in an XJ is outstanding considering you could jam a Prius in the trunk of such a large vehicle and still have 5 adults riding in comfort.
As for the Prius getting 52-54MPG in normal higway driving, that's not much of an accomplishment. My '79 Dodge Colt hatchback could attain that on the highway without the complexity of a hybrid. VW Golf/Rabbit diesels were hitting 60MPG back then too. So, hybrids are a complete waste of money and unnecessarily complex. I know exactly what P.T. Barnum would say about hybrid buyers if he were still alive today.
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