42 mpg Captiva in the MPG Marathon = green SUV
In this week's MPG Marathon, a Chevy Captiva with seven people on board returned 42.42 mpg. GM has helpfully done the math for us: that's 14.35 percent more than the official figure (37.2 mpg) and 15.1 kg of CO2 per person over the 334-mile route. I'll do my own math to turn that into 105.7 kg over the whole route, which comes to 197 g/km for the full car. Hopefully my math is right.
Anyway, GM adds that this drive proves "that an SUV can be an environmentally responsible way to travel." Got that? Fill up your SUV with a bunch of people each time you drive. It?s the green way.
Related:
[Source: GM]
CAPTIVA ALL CREWED UP FOR ECO MARATHON
- Chevrolet Captiva competes in MPG Marathon with seven adults on board
- CO2 emissions of just 15.1kg per person on 334 mile route
- MPG returns of 14.35% above official combined figure
Chevrolet's Captiva cruised its way through the fifth AA/ALD Automotive MPG Marathon with a full crew of seven fully grown adults aboard, proving that an SUV can be an environmentally responsible way to travel.
Driven by respected motoring journalist Matt Joy (29), with a crew of six other fully grown adults, the £21,140 Captiva LT returned an impressive 42.42mpg – an increase of 5.32mpg or 14.35 per cent over the official combined figure of 37.2mpg.
Run over a gruelling 334-mile route across Hampshire, Somerset and Devon, the MPG Marathon incorporates a mixture of motorway, town and cross country driving to replicate typically challenging British driving conditions.
And with seven adults aboard, the 2.0-litre diesel Captiva's impressive performance meant a CO2 output of just 15.1kg per person over the entire route. With the average car on the UK's roads emitting 164g/km of CO2 a single person driving on their own over the same route would generate a CO2 output of 88kg – almost six times as much.
What's more, despite travelling in the Captiva for two full days, the crew of seven adults arrived at the MPG Marathon's finish point – the AA's headquarters in Basingstoke, Hants, in fine fettle.
"I'd do it again tomorrow!" said passenger Richard Sowter (23), "But next time, I'd take my iPod!"
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GoodCheer 9:42AM (10/06/2007)
Sebastian: I think you're math is right (at least I got the same 197g/km based on the 15.1 kgCO2 figure), but that number simply does not match all the other data.
Based on the chemical composition of diesel and it's products of combustion the conversion is:
[gCO2/km] = 6657 / [US-MPG]
Alternatively:
[gCO2/km] = 26.646 * [l/100km]
And
[l/100km] = 235 / [US-MPG]
so 42.42 USmpg should be 157 gCO2/km for diesel.
I'm confused about what's happened here. Maybe somebody on their end was a bit too hasty with a calculator.
Incidentally, the corresponding numbers for gasoline are:
[gCO2/km] = 5610 / [US-MPG]
[gCO2/km] = 23.882 * [l/100km]
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AMcA 1:09AM (10/08/2007)
How much power does one of those 2.0 diesels make?
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