Honda Mileage Marathon winner beats official mpg figure
The winner of Honda’s Mileage Marathon challenge for fleet drivers recorded an average of 63.6mpg in a Honda Insight, beating the official economy figure of 61.4 mpg (combined).
The challenge involved six high mileage company car drivers swapping their existing cars for a Honda Insight for a month, to see if the hybrid could reduce their fuel costs.
E-ON company car driver, Ray Hadlington, usually drives a Vauxhall Zafira Diesel. He improved his typical fuel economy by over 10mpg, which saved nearly £50 in fuel bills over the month.
“Fuel prices are likely to rise again due to the weaker pound, and with the recent increase in duty, fleets will be looking at how they can reduce their fuel costs,” says Graham Avent, Manager – Corporate Sales at Honda (UK). “The results of this challenge show how switching the average company car driver into a Honda hybrid could save around £600 in fuel annually, or £1,800 over a 3-year contract.” *
As the CO2 emissions of the Insight are just 101g/km it sits in the lowest 10% Benefit in Kind (BIK) band. This means that company car tax starts from just £28 a month.
“Driving the Honda Insight was really no different from driving my Zafira, but the dashboard graphics reminded me to ease off the accelerator a little more than usual,” said winner Ray Hadlington. “The Benefit in Kind cost saving is probably the hardest element for me to ignore.”
Fleets taking on the Honda Insight also stand to benefit from low whole life costs due to a combination of solid residual values, low SMR and low fuel costs. In addition, Insight has low Class 1A National Insurance contributions and is exempt from the London congestion charge.
*Based on calculation that the average diesel fleet car travels £25k miles a year and delivers 50 mpg, switching to Insight would save £591 a year in fuel costs.
Diesel car = 50 mpg / diesel £1.14 a litre. £2594 fuel cost for 25k miles
Insight = 63.6 mpg / petrol £1.12 a litre. £2003 fuel cost for 25k miles
