Vauxhall Vivaro wins MPG Marathon

Running costs are critical to both van fleet managers and private customers alike, and Vauxhall’s Vivaro has proven itself as the out-and-out champ in terms of fuel economy by winning the commercial vehicle category of the 2009 Fleetworld/ALD MPG marathon.

The British-built van achieved an overall figure of 55.25mpg on the 360-mile drive, which took in challenging roads across the East and West Midlands over two days. This represents an improvement of 60.6 per cent over the van’s official combined economy figure of 34.4mpg, and proves that a smooth and careful approach to driving can pay huge dividends to drivers, and to fleets looking to cut their costs.

Driven by seasoned economy driver Andrew Duerden and co-driver Jim Smith, the winning van was a 2.0 CDTi 115PS SWB variant, the most popular of the Luton-built models.

“I knew that by keeping the van within its peak torque curve and by reading the road ahead we stood a good chance,” said Andrew. “But to achieve a 60 per cent improvement really shows that van drivers can achieve superb results by applying a responsible approach to their driving.”

The winning van was fitted with data-logging equipment supplied by Millbrook Proving Ground, which offers economy driver-training sessions to businesses and fleet operators alike.

It has won its category in the MPG Marathon before, but the figure of 55mpg is the best ever achieved by a Vivaro on the event, comprehensively beating rivals including a Ford Transit and Mercedes Vito.