The Art of Efficiency: A Unique Economy Race at the Bronte Exor Test Track

In an effort to give economy runs a bit of excitement, we've organized a unique economy race at the Bronte Exor test track. Six of the most fuel-efficient cars on sale in Britain today are lined up behind us, each with one gallon of fuel and just one hour to cover as much distance as possible as possible. The time limit is what makes this a race rather than a dull economy run.

We're driving a Ford Fiesta Etic, which we're confident will handle our way to victory. Our strategy is to average 60 miles per the gallon, so we'll aim for an average speed of around 60 miles per hour and see how far we can go before running out of fuel. Meanwhile, behind us, the Voxal Corsair Ecoflex is waiting patiently; despite being only the fourth most efficient car on the grid, it's still a formidable contender with an impressive 70 miles per gallon.

We're also driving a Toyota Prius, which we know won't win this race outright. We'll have to try and beat our fellow hybrid cars, particularly the Insight, by slipstreaming down behind them and then quickly catching up when they break for fuel regeneration. Our competitor, Cole, is confidently going flat out in his Smart CDI; although it's not the fastest car on the grid, its incredible 80+ MPG fuel consumption means it can still maintain a respectable pace.

But how will our strategy play out? We'll start by keeping a constant speed of around 56-60 miles per hour, which is the sweet spot for fuel efficiency. We'll avoid breaking as much as possible, knowing that this will help us conserve fuel and stay in contention for the win. Meanwhile, Cole's strategy involves driving his Smart flat out for an entire hour; although this may seem like a bold plan, it could well pay off if he can maintain this pace throughout.

As we start our race, it becomes clear that there are some issues with each car's efficiency. The Smart CDI is understeering and not responding as expected, which makes it difficult to navigate the corners. Our own Ford Fiesta Etic seems to be handling beautifully, but we're struggling to maintain an average speed of 60 miles per hour without breaking; we'll have to keep our cool and avoid touching the brakes too much if we want to stay in contention.

As we progress through the race, we start to notice that our competitors are also having their own challenges. Cole's Smart CDI is still struggling with understeering, which means he's not able to maintain a consistent speed. Meanwhile, the Prius and Insight are engaged in a close battle; they're both trying to conserve fuel while still making progress down the track.

But what about the BMW 116d? We know it's not going to win this race outright, but we'll have to try and beat our fellow hybrids by slipstreaming behind them. Our strategy is to stay on their tail and then quickly catch up when they break for fuel regeneration. Let's see if we can make this work!

As the race reaches its final stages, it becomes clear that some cars are running out of fuel at an alarming rate. Cole's Smart CDI has finally succumbed to understeering, and he's having to pull over. Our Ford Fiesta Etic is still going strong, but we're starting to feel the effects of our flat-out driving strategy; we'll have to keep an eye on our fuel levels if we want to avoid running out.

And then, in a shocking twist, Cole pulls up beside us and says he's managed to finish just 10 seconds ahead of us. We may not have won this race outright, but it's clear that we've both driven incredibly efficiently; our average speed is an impressive 59.4 miles per gallon!

In the end, it's a Ford Fiesta Etic victory, with Cole's Smart CDI coming in a respectable second place. But we're all winners today because we've managed to push ourselves and our cars to new limits. We've shown that even economy runs can be exciting and challenging; let's hope this unique event becomes an annual tradition!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: encars are getting greener and more efficient all the time we know that it's something we just accept it's not normally the most exciting of processes but today we've tried something different to give it a bit of a Zing because we're going to have an economy race at the bront exor test track and behind me we've got a grid with six of the most fuel efficient cars on sale in Britain today each one is going to get one gallon of fuel and just one hour to get as far as possible now the time limit is the important factor here because it means this is going to be a race rather than a dull economy run I'm driving a Ford Fiesta etic and I'm going to win because it handles um I reckon I'll get 60 m per the gallon out of it so I'm going to average 60 M an hour for the hour and I'll run out as it finishes I've got the mighty voxal corser ecoflex it's only the fourth most efficient car here but it's still 70 m a gallon I'm going to try and make up the difference by going hard at the start and make everybody chase me and hopefully run out of fuel I'm drawing the toy Prius and I'm not going to win I know that the Diesels are going to win so I'm going to try and beat the other hybrid the insight and for that reason I'm going to slipstream the insight and see if I can beat it I am driving the insight and my strategy is to try and drive it a constant 56 to 60 miles an hour which is the best kind of speed for fuel consumption and avoid breaking as much as possible CU that's really really bad for fuel subject I'm driving a smart CDI and I'm going to win cuz I'm going to drive it flat out for an hour and I've called dibs on the BMW 116d because it's the most powerful car here and my strategy is to win from the front three 2 one go it was the slowest start to a race that anyone has ever seen But by the end of the first lap it was clear that the fiesta and the smart were setting the pace with goodwind powering ahead the trouble with my Flatout technique in the smart is that it's not very fast and the other problem is it under steers light you wouldn't believe so I have to ad adopt uh left foot breaking doing that made it a lot easier to get around the corners the trouble is it's brought the smarts incredible 80 plus MPG fuel consumption down to the 50s but however hard Cole tried Matt in the fiesta was right behind him and finding life far easier so I am trying to maintain an average of about 60 M an hour uh no touching the brakes cutting all the corners as delicately as I can I'm on the throttle only with my big toe and the idea is just to keep it as smooth as is possible further back the Prius and the Insight were having their own private battle a very very close one well here I am slipstreaming down and I've got two problems I'm having to break to avoid the back of him because I'm so close to get the benefit of the slipstream and also because I'm not breaking to regenerate the battery in the Prius CU I'm trying to keep a consistent speed I'm not actually getting much benefit from this at all the Prius apparently has a much better uh Master the gallon figure than the Insight does so I I think she might be causing herself a lot of trouble for no particularly good reason in the 116d my problem was Keeping Up with the corser with 10 minutes of the race left the BMW's trip computer reckoned it had zero miles to empty but then a miracle happened Goodwin ran out of fuel uh my tactic of going flat out the whole time didn't work uh probably due to poor maths on my front never mind but Cole wasn't alone by the side of the track for very long so that was really annoying I've got one minute to go I've run out of fuel I've done 54.7 miles which I don't think is going to win me in it and I have absolutely no idea what my MPG is it's 54.7 MPG down the corser and the Prius also ran out of fuel before the flag dropped leaving just the BMW and the Victorious Fiesta still running at the end of the race welcome to the winners enclosure it's very quiet here cu the only other car to make it to the end is Mike's and he's done one lap less than this Fiesta which ran out of Diesel 10 seconds after arriving at the end of the hour in which it's done 59.4 mil on a gallon which is very good I think very very good so full credit to the Ford Fiesta rectic for a well-deserved Victory it is an economy force of nature Matt managed to finish a lap ahead of everybody else but I'm going to claim a little bit of a moral victory for the BMW 116d as well it came second but it was the only car here that got to the end of the hour with any fuel left in the tank at all but all these cars have done pretty well when you consider we've come to a racetrack and we've managed to do more more than 50 mil to the gallon\n"