Another week, another eco run. This time with a new record. 80 kilometres per liter! Amazing. Especially for a full size SUV. Oh, but did they tell you about the fantastic prizes being dangled in front of them to achieve that figure? What about the switching off of the engine during downhill portions? Or the security escorts they were assigned to part traffic for them like Moses?
Yup. Didn't think so.
I'm not saying every eco run is like this, but there are far too many that are. And after seeing figures that would make your Internet service provider's claims seem conservative, I decided to set up my own.
Basically, the idea was to create a realistic road test with just one driver and transparent parameters that are not only easily duplicated, but more importantly, an accurate reflection of responsible daily driving on Philippine roads. In other words, realistic.
You can see a complete outline of the parameters here which tells you exactly how I conduct the highway runs, as well as the conditions of my city cycle, so that I can save the word count and jump straight into this week's test.
Meet the Hyundai Accent.
When Hyundai caught wind of my ongoing search, they practically forced me to test it. Never before had I seen this much confidence and enthusiasm from a manufacturer when it came to subjecting their car to such a sensitive test. They were so cocky, in fact, they didn't just send one. They sent two: a 6-speed manual sedan and an automatic hatch.
So let's start with the hatch. It is fitted with the usual goodies you can expect from this class, like alloy wheels, power windows, mirrors, decent sound system etc., but it is what's under the hood where all the excitement is.
In fact, the only thing going against this hatch is that the car begs you to drive fast. It has such a peppy little 1.6 liter CRDi engine that feels like the mechanical expression of that dog that keeps coming back with the ball. You feel compelled to keep playing. It may only produce just a touch more horsepower than a Jazz (128) but it's the tidal wave of torque that keeps the smile on your face.
With 260nm in such a light body, the Accent is quick. Not necessarily fast, but quick. Also, it's light steering, although far from sporty, makes it very easy to weave effortlessly through moving traffic. And as this was holy week, I had very little to hold me up. So I put off the fuel test for a day and went out to play.
With that out of the way, the Accent is also a miser. Driven maturely, you're able to use all that luscious torque, delivered early, to get the car's momentum going and keeping throttle inputs to a bare minimum, allowing the CRDi to just sip fuel even while keeping pace with traffic.
The only time it starts to lose its' magic is during speeds above 90Km/h as the four speed auto starts pushing the RPM out of the sweet spot. Not that it can't climb past that, but it starts affecting fuel economy. Unlike the manual.
This here was the biggest revelation. I had the taxi pack, which was very, very basic––steel rims, no keyless entry. It is nowhere near as rewarding to drive as the auto, but but boy does it ask for little back in return. And I'm talking 23.8 kms per liter in return. In the city.
Once it came to highway, the 6-speed manual really starts to shine. at 100 km/h, it turned in a very tidy 27.3 kms per liter. But does that make it the country's most economical car? As this is an ongoing test, it is impossible to say. But to see how it ranks so far among other vehicles tested under the same conditions, check out the updated list.
