Ford Transits were the first and second placed vans in this year’s MPG Marathon, with best-in-class fuel consumption and lowest cost per mile.
The 2.2-litre Ford Transit TDCi short and medium wheelbase vans were the most payload-efficient commercial vehicles in the competition, topping their class by returning best mpg and lowest cost per tonne mile. All vehicles were driven over the 400-mile route with half their permissible load to demonstrate the most fuel efficient transportation of goods. Carrying 840kg, the medium-wheelbase 140PS Ford Transit registered just 11.35 pence/tonne mile.
Next best vehicle in the nine-strong category was the Ford Transit short wheelbase delivering 12.7 pence/tonne mile. Both vehicles achieved independently verified best-in-class fuel consumption results – 45.2 and 47mpg for short and medium-wheelbase models respectively.
(In total 40 cars and commercial vehicles tackled an urban, motorway and country route between Bristol and Manchester to prove that skilful smooth driving dramatically reduces the cost of motoring. The average fuel consumption improvement was 23 per cent.)