Fuel? Just a little bit!

To make things really interesting, Tan Chong Motor also flew in two-time Formula Nippon Champion driver Tsugio Matsuda to take part in this challenge.

Yes, you're all probably thinking, "He'll never be able to rein in his need for speed!" We thought the same, until we were told that Tsugio had been told that this wasn't a race. We were also told that he took this challenge very seriously!

Undaunted, Sheldon and I planned to drive between 80-90 km/h, each utilizing the tip of our big toe to ever-so-gently prod the throttle. And as much as possible, we did not rev the engine past 2,000 rpm. We also set our Latio's digital air con between 24-25 degrees celcius. Other participants however, were more hard-core and drove with the air con off!

Navigation was pretty easy with the tulips provided. You just had to follow the distance marker along the centre divider, and make your exit as indicated. It sounded simple enough...well, that is until we let our conversation (about cars, what else?) distract us, causing us to miss a pit stop (or two).

After a brief lunch at a Thai restaurant in Port Dickson, it was time to hit the road again and head back to the petrol station in Gelang Patah. Despite no longer being eligible to win, we still kept to the recommended speed and drove as gently as possible. After all, we were eager to see how we fared against the racing driver and the other participants.

The surprising result was that the winner of the challenge, Mr. Chu Yew Fai, was participating in a fuel economy competition for the very first time. Together with his dad, they clocked a total of 540 kilometers, and achieved an astounding average of 28.382 km/litre! For their efforts, they were awarded $3,000 worth of petrol vouchers, $800 in cash, and $650 worth of Service vouchers. Top it all off, they were also given a one-night stay at the Siloso Beach Resort's Roof Garden Suite, which is worth $560.

Our team didn't do too badly either. Adding the extra kilometers we drove due to the missed pit stops, we covered around 560 kilometers. At the petrol station, we took on 26.46 liters of fuel - and that works out to an average of 21.164 km/litre!

It's a fantastic figure, really. Considering we were using the air con, and that we had a third passenger in the form of a PR executive who kept us supplied with snacks and bottled water (extra weight!) throughout the drive.

We may not have won, but this road trip was still one fine journey nevertheless!

Credits: Story and pictures by Jeremy R. Chua. Additional pictures courtesy of Tan Chong Motor.