It’s the second consecutive time the Civic Hybrid has won the event.
The rally aims to show how motorists can slash fuel bills by choosing a fuel-efficient car and driving it efficiently. Fifty-nine vehicles contested the 2008 event, driving on motorways, unsealed roads, rural state highways, and in peak-hour city traffic. Held every two years, the rally is organised by the AA, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), and Gull petrol.
The Driver Award, for the team that beat the manufacturer-quoted fuel use by the highest percentage, went to the Trade Me team. It beat HSV’s quoted fuel consumption of 15.7 litres/100km for the Maloo ute by 39.5 percent, achieving 9.497 litres/100km.
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion manual, emitting 95.58 grams per kilometre, won the Environment Award, for the vehicle with the lowest fuel use and emissions.
EECA chief executive, Mike Underhill, says that every New Zealander drove a car that was as efficient as the average car in the Energywsie rally, “we’d save about $1.8 billion dollars every year.”
Gull general manager, Dave Bodger, says the rally shows New Zealanders can they reduce fuel consumption by nearly 40 percent by “being responsible and using fuel efficient driving techniques. All New Zealand motorists can save substantially on their fuel costs by following the same practices.”
Other category winners were: Small Class, Mitsubishi Colt Plus CVT; Compact Class, Honda Civic Hybrid; Medium/Executive Class, Volkswagen Jetta BlueMotion Manual; Large/Luxury Class, Honda V6 Accord VS Automatic; Small Lifestyle/Leisure Class, Suzuki SX4 2 litre All Wheel Drive Manual; Large Lifestyle/Leisure Class, Hyundai Santa Fe Manual.
