TREK BREAKS RECORD FOR MILEAGE

Lisa Calvi and Garry Sowerby broke the record for fuel
efficiency during a cross-Canada trek in a
2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel

 

By Lisa Calvi, Postmedia News - We did it!  We broke a Canadian record for lowest fuel consumption.  My husband Garry Sowerby and I, drove from Vancouver to Halifax on the shortest route in a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel.

After 5,956 kilometres, we had an average 4.21 L/100 km.  That's 67.09 miles per imperial gallon and beats the existing Canadian record of 5.59 L/100 km.  The Cruze consumed 250.9 litres of diesel fuel.  (More information on these statistics below.)

On the final day, Friday, Aug. 30, departing Woodstock, New Brunswick in the dark, a silence came over the cockpit.  After an hour, the first words Garry uttered were: "Once the fog clears, the big question will be which way is the wind blowing?  Will it be in our favour?"  He continued to mutter about getting 'the number' down.  It didn't sound good.

"You can't believe the numbers in my head!" he said.  "Elevation.  Average speed."

"Oh yes I can," I replied.  "You're saying them out loud!"

In silence again, I recalled a story he told me about a similar challenge run he made through Scandinavia in 1991.

That trip took place B.L. - Before Lisa, as I call the time before we met.  On that trip, the Fuel Nerd stretched his female travelling companion's patience to the limits.

Near the end of the run, as the incessant rattling and muttering of numbers intensified, she threw a jar of peanuts at Garry across a hotel room.

Through my musings in the car on that last morning, Garry cheerily and suddenly asked: "You ready to throw a jar of peanuts at me yet?"

Noting his confidence in the outcome, he adds: "If someone wanted to take a crack at breaking our record, they'd have to think hard about attempting it."

A road trip with the mission of beating a record must have parameters.  These were ours:

1. Average overall speed on the entire journey must be 80 km/h or above.  This may seem slow but you have to think that speed limits through most of Northern Ontario are 90 km/h.  There is not much four-lane highway in Canada where the speed limit is 110 km/h.  We drove the speed limit, slightly under where it was safe to do so.  We travelled with the flow of traffic on two-lane highways and used passing lanes to their full efficiency.
2. The entire trip must be completed in eight days or 192 hours.  We did it in 189 hours.
3. The entire route must be within Canada between Halifax and Vancouver.  Direction of travel is up to the drive team.
4. No boats, ferries, airplanes or trains allowed.
5. You must use the least amount of fuel.
6. Vehicle used is up to the drive team.  We chose a 2014 Chevy Clean Turbo Diesel Cruze.  (GM says it's the most fuel frugal non-hybrid on the market.)

We had a memorable road trip, made some remarkable friends and showed that a massive drive across the country can be fun, frugal and fuel-efficient.

CONFESSIONS:

1. Shoes: In my first column, I stated that, to keep weight down in the vehicle, I would take just one pair of shoes.  Of course, I had to bring a pair of "going out" wedges for urban nights in Vancouver and Ottawa.  Final Shoe Statistics: Five pairs.  Least worn? Those "going out" ones, of course.
2. You're waiting for me to admit we hyper-miled, drafted behind transport trucks or waited out headwinds at roadside and had daily arguments.  Didn't happen.
3. At the outset, I thought I would try to quit chocolate.  This didn't happen, nor did I throw a jar of peanuts at my husband.
4. We would do it again in a heartbeat.

FINAL VEHICLE STATISTICS:

Overall fuel consumption: 4.21 litres per 100 kilometres
Fuel used: 253.8 litres according to instrument panel; 248.6 litres according to receipts.  We averaged the two to get 250.9 litres
Vancouver-Halifax: 5,955.8 km
Average speed: 80.3 km/h

COUPLE AIMS TO SET FUEL ECONOMY RECORD

Lisa Calvi and her husband Garry Sowerby
aim to drive exactly the speed limit during their journey.

By Lisa Calvi, Postmedia News - People pause when I tell them what the coming week involves.  Over the phone, there's a hesitation - silence - then, "You're doing what?"

Yes, that's right.  By the time you read this, I'll be trapped in a car with my husband, Garry Sowerby, for 6,000 kilometres.  Over the next eight days, we will be feather-footing our way from Vancouver to Halifax, driving the speed limit - attempting to set a new record for lowest fuel consumption.  We'll be using the least amount of fuel on a cross-Canada drive.  We want to set a record that will be difficult for someone else to beat within the same parameters.

For us to succeed, we have to stick to the shortest route, barely veer off for food, libations and accommodations and, here's the kicker, drive exactly the speed limit.  We won't see much beyond the Trans Canada Highway and what it may (or may not) offer.

Obviously, the choice of vehicle is important.  We are driving a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel.  We're hoping to see the on-board computer read an impressive highway fuel consumption rating, somewhere in the four-point-something L/100km set last year by Volkswagen and Shell using a 2012 VW Passat.

We'll have to be ever so light on the throttle, which won't let us experience the diesel's V6-like performance and torque, but we'll definitely be investigating its four-cylinder efficiency.

The Chevy Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel's 2.0L turbocharged clean diesel engine produces 151 horsepower and 264 pound-feet of low-end torque.

Diesel is catching on in Canada, especially with a new generation of diesel engines that are less noisy and don't have the traditional vibration or telltale black exhaust that may have turned some people off in the past.

Garry is excited.  He says how much he's looking forward to this "vacation".  The words "excited" and "vacation" are not what come to mind to describe what I'm feeling.  Certainly every once in a while I get a glimmer of "Oh, seeing our beautiful country this way might not be so bad."  But it's quickly overshadowed by the thought of how important a light suitcase will be.  Then my brain gets jittery thinking, "Good lord, I can only bring one pair of shoes!"

And while the topic of fuel consumption is top of mind for vehicle owners, let's face it, it's not very sexy.  Can it possibly be?  Maybe, so Garry and I want to have fun and get a bit silly driving across the country in a good old-fashioned, go-for-broke road trip.

During the 6,000-plus-kilometre Trans-Canada trek, starting August 22 and continuing to about August 30, we plan to interview Canadians who make the great highway tick.  We want to ask them questions such as: What's your proudest moment as a Canadian?  What's the wildest thing you've seen along the TCH?  How far have you driven along the TCH?  Why would you like to come with us?

We also want to ask you what those burning question you have for those Canadians who make the Trans Canada tick.  Send us your ideas.  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or on our blog (blogs.driving.ca).  Help us check the pulse of Canadians.

Our friends are placing bets on whether our marriage will survive.  Will one of us get dropped off somewhere between Kenora and Thunder Bay, never to be seen again?  Who needs enemies?  They're also subjecting us to corny comments such as: "Sounds sort of fuelish to me."

Speaking of corny, we'll also be capturing goofy roadside Canadiana: Big Thing of the Day.  Sign of the day.  Best music scene on the TCH.  Look for us out there on the road.

But our ultimate goal, of course, is to produce an excellent fuel economy number with the Chevy Cruze Diesel, as well as make a "boring" trip fun.

One of my secret goals is to see how I'll survive eight days with only one pair of shoes.