1,250 kms on one tank of fuel!

“We wish to invite you to join our upcoming program, the Focus TDCi Fuel Efficiency Drive Challenge 2011. The program’s main objective is to affirm the current fuel efficiency proclamation of a Focus TDCi of 900 kms/53 litres. We are confident that our Focus TDCi, a winner in both maximum driving performance and fuel efficiency is able to achieve higher mileage than claimed earlier” was how Hazel Khor, Brand Manager - Ford Passenger Cars at Sime Darby Auto ConneXion, started off her e-mail to me. She added that their own testing had actually achieved up to 1,200 kms on the 53 litres which is the volume of the fuel tank of the Focus.

For someone who has participated in fuel economy runs over the years and enjoys the challenge of trying to go as far as possible on each litre of fuel, I was certainly keen to join. That the Focus TDCi could do 900 kms on a full tank didn’t surprise me since its 2-litre Duratorq turbodiesel engine has proven to be a fuel-sipper. In fact, it was so impressive that Autocar ASEAN picked it as the Best Medium-Sized Sedan/Hatchback in our Car of the Year Awards last year.

I had earlier tested both the hatchback and sedan versions but when I drove the cars, my attention was more taken up by the strong torque – 320 Nm at 2000 rpm – which made for effortless motoring. I had noticed that the fuel gauge seemed like it was ‘spoilt’ because, in spite of all the hard driving (difficult not to want to experience that surge which 320 Nm gives), the needle hardly moved.

Hazel added that besides our small group of motoring journalists, there would also be another group of Focus TDCi owners who would also try to see how far they could go on a tankful. However, she expected that the more experienced journalists would get better mileage as we have often been given tips on how to drive economically by experts.

The route proposed was Petaling Jaya to Penang by the highway but to and fro would only give about 750 kms. So the route was stretched as much as possible – PJ to Ipoh, then through Taiping and on to Alor Setar before turning around and ending up on Penang island. Then from Penang, we would drive back to the Auto ConneXion head office in Petaling Jaya. That was expected to give at least 1,000+ kms of distance with ‘typical’ motoring conditions.

To motivate us to do our best, there were prizes offered and that certainly changed the event from a casual drive to one in which each of crews (two to a car) was out to win. I guess you could say it’s a ‘guy thing’ where we just want to be the best. So my question to Hazel was “what are the rules?” To which she said there were none, other than that the after the fuel tank was topped up, it would be sealed (along with the bonnet) so that no one could add more fuel. There were also no target times set which made things a bit easier. But going at snail’s pace wasn’t a good idea though it may seem logical. This is because it can be counter-productive – the engine may burn less fuel but the low speed versus the distance covered is too little; in other words, it is inefficient use of the fuel.

In really serious economy runs I have done in the past, meeting target times were the big challenge because every minute late meant a penalty. So there was a need to constantly keep calculating the average speed, arrival time and all that – and this was in the days before GPS units and on-board computers… all I had was a small calculator! Running late meant that some very ‘unusual’ driving techniques would be needed, sometimes scaring the co-driver because coming to a stop was to be avoided!

The other point I needed to know was whether air-conditioning had to be switched on. For the majority of motorists, the air-conditioner runs 100% of the time – even when they are waiting in the carpark for someone to come out – so one could say that a ‘representative’ condition should require the air-conditioner to be on.

However, Hazel said it was up to us and of course, no one would have it on since the difference can be about 10% to 20% in fuel consumption. But it would also mean that conditions inside the car would be rather uncomfortable as it would be a mobile sauna room when driving at noon.

I recalled all the times when sweat would drench my clothes because the windows would be up to avoid causing turbulence that would spoil the aerodynamics of the car. On the Focus TDCi, we couldn’t even open the fresh air vent as it was integrated with the rest of the air-conditioning system and if we pressed the button to open it, the system would run. Anyway, I decided that we would not be so ‘extreme’ and opened the windows occasionally to let air in. It did get a bit hairy when it rained in some sections and the glass would mist up. Normally, you don’t notice this problem since the air-conditioner keeps the cabin temperature lower than the outside and if there is misting on the glass, it is on the outside where the wipers will remove it. However, without the air-conditioner, the inside was much warmer so condensation occurred on the glass which had to be wiped off by hand. Reminded me of my childhood days when my Dad had a cloth in the car for the purpose.

Before I found out who else was invited, I got a call from my friend, Daniel Fernandez, the editor of Asian Auto, who asked if I would like to partner him. Just a month earlier, we had been together in a Honda Insight drive to Melaka and got 26 kms/litre which was the best among the participants. So he felt that our combination might be a lucky one and I had no problem with that. On such an event, it is important to have a partner who has a high level of tolerance and patience because the heat and modest speed can drive some people crazy. It can get so hot and stuffy that some might even hallucinate and do strange things!
 

We met at the Ford showroom and then drove the cars (we were allocated a sedan) to a station along the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) to top up the tanks. Understanding that there’s air inside the tank which can influence the amount of fuel taken in, I had the car rocked to try to vent the tank as much as possible. It’s amazing but sometimes, there is so much air inside that if you can get it to come out, you can pump in a few more litres of fuel after the nozzle auto-stops the first time.

Back in the earlier days of fuel economy runs, we would rock the car for a long time because we wanted to get the maximum possible amount of fuel in as the basis of calculation was how much fuel was put in again at the finish to top up the tank. And in an economy challenge organized by another company, some participants even jacked up their vehicle so that the tank would be angled as they filled it, enabling more fuel to go in. Still, with all the rocking we did, I don’t think the volume was a full 53 litres. An engineer told me that there is always a ‘dead zone’ in the fuel tank and it is hard to fill it.

After a quick briefing, we were flagged off and headed north to Ipoh. Having forgotten to add extra air to the Goodyear NCT5 tyres, we went into a station to pump up the tyres. The pressure chosen was about 30% higher which is still within the design limits of the tyre, but a higher pressure can help improve fuel consumption a bit. Normally, the high pressure will make the tyres harder which can have a negative effect on ride comfort. But I was surprised to find that the Focus TDCi still had a reasonably comfortable ride. Of course, it must also be said that our route was on smooth highway almost all the time.

It took a while to get into ‘competition mode’ and during that time, we tried out various strategies to conserve fuel. As I said earlier, going very slow is not necessarily the best way as fuel-efficiency can be poorer and generally, a cruising speed of between 80 and 90 km/h is good. The small display between the meters told us that our average consumption was 6 litres per 100 kms (17 kms/litre) as we started off and this slowly changed to 5 litres (20 kms/litre) and kept changing downwards as we moved north, so we were doing it right.

A manual transmission would have been helpful but Auto ConneXion doesn’t import this variant but the dual-clutch Powershift automatic transmission was almost as good anyway. Apart from being more efficient than conventional automatic transmissions, it also allows the driver to select the six gears manually. That was valuable in our effort to keep the revs down and my arm got tired from constantly pulling the lever downwards to force the transmission into the highest possible gear. With plenty of torque available from low rpm, it would quick shift upwards whenever 1500 rpm was reached and this enabled us to get to the top gear within a short distance after moving off.

AutoConneXion paid for all the toll charges but didn’t provide an electronic tag so I brought my own along and slotted the tollcard in. Every little bit helps and by being able to coast through the toll plaza instead of stopping to touch the card on the reader was useful.

In the past, I would also switch off the engine frequently as one way to cut fuel flow. But I then realized this is actually a bad idea because each time the engine is re-started, the injector squirts extra fuel so the start-up is smoother. So it was better to just go into Neutral (when conditions were safe to do so) and roll along with the engine at idle. Modern EFI systems are also able to cut off fuel flow under certain conditions, eg when the accelerator pedal is not pressed, which helps improve fuel economy.

Our first night’s stop was on the outskirts of Ipoh which was helpful as I didn’t like the idea of struggling through evening traffic in the city. That kind of condition has a real impact on consumption and is also stressful for the driver who has to ‘read’ traffic flow and minimize stopping. You have to watch traffic lights ahead and guess whether they will change soon or stay red for some time, which would mean switching off the engine and rolling to a stop. Idling at red lights wastes a lot of fuel which is why more cars will have auto-stop functions to shut down the engine in such situations. Hybrids already have them but for our Focus TDCi, the human still had to do it manually after assessing the situation.

The fuel gauge needle had only moved off the ‘F’ mark after about 100 kms and at the first night’s stop, our display showed that we had done 199.3 kms and fuel had been consumed at an average rate of 3.8 lits/100 kms (26.3 kms/litre). At that point, the computer had calculated that the remaining fuel was good for 516 kms but it was using data only from 199 kms of driving and the forecast would change as we drove further.

The tripcomputer also told us that our average speed was 69 km/h but it wasn’t as slow as it sounds because the GPS unit recorded that we had reached up to 104 km/h. We had actually been driving around 80 km/h much of the way and the 69 km/h average was due some stretches where we were forced to slow down.

The next morning, we departed for Taiping and I dreaded the challenge of driving up the winding road to the Cangkat Jering tunnel outside Ipoh. It’s a steep slope and fortunately, traffic was light but it was raining and that made things more difficult as the glass misted up. The highest gear that could be used for the moderate speed we wanted was 4^th gear. The only consolation was that when we exited the tunnel, it was a long downhill so we probably offset  a bit on the extra consumption that was incurred.

Because the conditions were wet and slippery, it was dangerous to switch off the engine and roll down as a dead engine meant that the power assistance for the steering was also gone and worse, the servo-assist for the brakes was lost. This meant very heavy steering – not good for the windy downhill road – and having to press the brake pedal very hard to slow down. So the engine was left running, in neutral sometimes to get it down to idle and save fuel.

At Taiping, we stopped for lunch and a short break before the long drive that would take us to Alor Setar for dinner. Fortunately, the sky was cloudy so it wasn’t too uncomfortable and with Daniel’s never-ending stock of jokes, the kilometres passed by quite quickly. Past the Penang bridge turn-off, the highway was fairly flat as it went through the padi-covered plains of Kedah. Along this stretch, there were many giant trucks so we tried a bit of slipstreaming, coming up behind a truck and staying there so that there was less wind resistance. Lower wind resistance means the engine works less hard for a desired speed, reducing fuel consumption. But you cannot be too far back otherwise it’s worse as the airflow from the truck becomes turbulent, so being close means concentrating and watching for the brake lights to come on. My partner’s eyes were wide open all the way so I did the stretch from Alor Setar to Penang.
 

On the drive to Penang, we continued to stalk the trucks but after a while, I realized that the truck driver might think we were hijackers following him through the night and waiting for the right moment to force him to a stop! So we looked for buses instead and as those buses go rather fast, we could maintain a brisk pace. Somewhere along the way, the fuel gauge needle pointed vertically down – the half-tank mark – and I pulled over to get a picture. The mileage travelled was 595 kms so if you double it up, you’d get almost 1,200 kms.

The Penang Bridge wasn’t as congested as I feared it would be on a Friday night (we must have missed the jam by the time we crossed) but making our way to Batu Feringghi was very challenging. There was a lot of traffic but we seemed to hit a ‘green wave’ and most of the lights were green for us to drive across junctions.

Our car was the last to get in, mainly because we were the last to leave the dinner in Alor Setar and then we had to divert a few times to avoid heavy jams on the island. The total distance we had done from the start in PJ was 663.3 kms and average fuel consumption was 4 lits/100 kms (25 kms/litre). Despite higher speeds from Alor Setar to Penang, our overall average speed was shown as 61 km/h (based on the total distance of 663 kms). The tripcomputer calculated that the remaining fuel would take us another 441 kms which meant that with the distance already travelled, the Focus TDCi had the potential for 1,104 kms.

It had been a long day on the road and I was pretty worn out. After doing the story on the new Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tyre and getting it uploaded, I quickly went to sleep as I wanted as much rest as possible for the next day’s equally long drive back.

We set off after breakfast and as it was not only a Saturday morning but also a long weekend (Monday being a public holiday), a lot of people were motoring off the island for a holiday as well. As we came off the Penang Bridge, we ran into a long jam caused by one accident near the toll plaza at Juru. That was pretty frustrating as it seemed (when we reached the accident site) that there was plenty of space for traffic to move through but many motorists were too ‘kay-poh’ and had to slow down to see the Estima which was bashed on its side. And of course, traffic on the other side of the highway was also moving slowly since the motorists there also wanted to see what a MPV that has been hit on the side looks like.

The rest of the journey was uneventful but it was grueling because it was a sunny day and oven-like conditions developed in the cabin. To make sure I didn’t dehydrate, I drank a lot of water and we took turns driving. Somewhere near Behrang, it was apparent that all that water consumed didn’t get sweated out and we had to make a stop at the R&R for a quick visit to the toilet. It was good to get out because my right foot was cramped from being tensed over the pedal to try to maintain a consistent speed (note to Auto ConneXion: cruise control should be included in the Focus).

The Auto ConneXion folks had told us that we should stop when the remaining distance was 10 kms because running out of fuel was bad for the engine. The fuel pump sucks air into the delivery system and this creates complications so the fuel tank should never be allowed to go dry. Not knowing just where each car would stop, we were to call in and give our position so the refueling vehicle could bring extra fuel. But that was unnecessary as we still had something like 200 kms remaining when we were near KL.

Having already crossed the 900-km distance sometime in the afternoon, I was curious to see just how far a tankful could go. So we started to divert to different places to use up the fuel; instead of heading to the Ford showroom, we went towards Klang, turned around, went along the Federal Highway and then to KLIA and back. The sun had set by then so the going was more tolerable. As the remaining distance diminished, I decided that being near the showroom would be a good idea so we went up and down the New Pantai Expressway (NPE).

When the low fuel warning light came on, I got cautious and decided that I didn’t want to push my luck. By then, I was just sick and tired of what I had gone through for the past 11 hours and wanted to go home. The distance was past 1,200 kms – pretty amazing to me – and after a few circuits round the Highway Centre next to the Ford showroom, I shut down the engine and rolled into their compound at 9:30 pm. The actual distance driven was 1,250 kms and the remaining fuel was supposed to be able to take the car another 84 kms. So the potential distance on the full tank was 1,334 kms or 25.1 kms/litre.

The only other car that had still not returned was the Focus TDCi hatchback crewed by YS Khong and Anthony. They got in just before midnight with 1,365 kms on the clock and 67 kms range remaining, which gave a potential distance of 1,432 kms or 27 kms/litre. The other two cars driven by motoring journalists also did over 1,200 kms.

One of the reasons for inviting us to do the drive was to make the numbers credible since we would personally achieve them. So I can confirm that the Focus TDCi can definitely go at least 900 kms on a full tank in normal driving conditions. Our high numbers were due to more obsessive strategies to get the maximum mileage and I would admit that few people would like to drive the way we did. But then again, fuel economy is really in your hands and feet because the engine itself is quite efficient. Compared to the 30 years ago, today’s engines with computer-controlled fuel-injection, advanced technologies, better fuel and engine oil and even lower rolling resistance for tyres have helped improve fuel efficiency. However, motorists have wasted some of these gains because of their desire for more comfort. 30 years ago, few cars had air-conditioners so there was no extra fuel consumed to power the compressor. Today, the air-conditioner is a must and worse, there are people who leave their engine on for long periods while parked just to keep cool. I see many chauffeurs doing that and I guess since the fuel cost is not theirs to worry about, they don’t care. But that has a heavy impact on fuel economy.

Diesel engines have also come a long way and in Europe, motorists really love these engines because they are more fuel-efficient, going 15 to 20% further on each litre than petrol engines, as clearly demonstrated by our Focus TDCi drive. Unfortunately, diesels still have a ‘low-class’ reputation in the eyes of many Malaysians. Prior to 1995, it was also expensive to own a diesel car as the roadtax was higher but after Tun Mahathir was briefed by Citroen on the benefits of diesel engines, he decided to halve the roadtax if the engines could meet at least Euro-1 standards, qualifying them as ‘Green Engines’. That should have boosted diesel car sales but the technology at that time was still not as advanced as today and performance was not so appealing.

 

Today’s diesel engine technology is very advanced with commonrail high-pressure delivery systems and the high torque generated makes driving a diesel car exhilarating. In fact, there’s even better performance available from diesel engines but the quality of Malaysian diesel, still at Euro-2M when Europe has gone to Euro-5, means that we can’t get the best and cleanest engines. Euro-2M is good but not great and other than doubling the additive content to enhance keep-clean properties (as what BHPetrol does with its infiniti diesel), there’s not a lot that the fuel companies can do as long as the government denies Malaysian motorists better fuel.

Anyway, if you still think a diesel car is boring to drive, try a Focus TDCi and you will be very surprised. And even while enjoying the strong acceleration, you can still get fantastic fuel economy.

To know more about the Focus TDCi and other Ford models in Malaysia, visit www.ford.net.my

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