So after taking some flack about the alleged weight of my right foot – and the fact I can’t manage to get my Ford Mondeo 2.0-litre TDCI over 40mpg under everyday use – I nabbed a Mondeo Econetic that was sitting in the carpark for my journey home last night.
Basically a slightly eco’d version of the 1.8 TDCI, the Econetic gets lower rolling resistance tyres, revised gearing and some aerodynamic tweaks to deliver a claimed combined mpg of 53.3 – compared to 50.4mpg for the standard 1.8 TDCI Zetec.
Anyway, to slash 50 percent out of a long story, I ended up mounting a one-man fuel economy run in the thing: aircon off, 70mph scrupulously observed and trying not to use the brakes unless strictly necessary, just to see what it was capable of delivering.
By happy coincidence I was sad enough to have done something similar in a boggo 1.8 TDCI last year, when I managed to record 53.9mpg according to the trip computer.
I thought that was impressive, but the Econetic knocked that into a cocked hat: see my slightly wobbly mobile phone pic for confirmation of a stonking 62.0mpg after 127 miles of motorway, B-road and urban sprawl. Granted, trip computers aren’t always completely accurate – although the one in my 2.0-litre Mondy is always close to the depressing reality.
For a car that weighs 1505kg – and which doesn’t get electric power steering, a part-time alternator or engine stop-start, breaking 60mpg is a remarkable achivement. And, for the record, it’s also 10mpg better than I’ve ever seen on the trip computer of a Prius.