The Citroen Nemo won the most economical van category at this year's MPG Marathon for the fourth year running, returning most than 77mpg over the 370-mile test course.
The Citroën Nemo van has again demonstrated its exceptional fuel efficiency by returning 77.5mpg and taking the title of the UK’s most economical van in this year’s independent 2012 ALD Automotive Shell Fuel Save MPG Marathon.
It’s the fourth consecutive year that the Nemo has triumphed in the van category — the model used to beat all the other LCV competitors in this demanding 2-day event was a Nemo HDi 75 manual 660 LX.
Not just a test
The event was organised by Fleet World magazine (it’s the same event as this one) and the Citroën Nemo van was driven by LCV journalist John Kendall, with co-driver Dr. Paul Nieuwenhuis, over a 370 mile route through the Cotswolds, Bristol, South Wales and the South Midlands.
Competitors had to maintain a 30mph average speed to avoid penalties, while ensuring that they successfully achieved optimum fuel economy. The 30mph average speed requirement highlights that the MPG Marathon is not just an impractical test event — it requires decent speed to be maintained at all times in real-world driving conditions.
Scott Michael, Citroën’s Head of Commercial Vehicles & Business Centre Programme, commented; “The 2012 ALD Automotive Shell Fuel Save MPG Marathon, an excellent, independent test of a vehicle’s fuel economy has again enabled the Citroën Nemo small van to demonstrate its exceptional fuel efficiency in demanding conditions.”
Petrol performance
Although they weren’t driving a van, I must also mention the award-winning performance of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust driving duo Mark Armstrong-Read and Geoff Murray.
They crewed their Citroën C1 VTR 1.0i 68 manual car to achieve an incredible 84.7mpg. Not only did this make it the most economical petrol engine car in this year’s event, but it also out performed its official combined cycle fuel consumption figure by no less than 28.92%. This really is an impressive result for a petrol-powered vehicle.