The 2012 RAC Future Car Challenge took place in the UK on 3 November 2012 to showcase low energy use vehicles including electric, hybrid, hydrogen, petrol and diesel vehicles which travelled a 102km route from Brighton to London.

BMW 1-Series impresses with low fuel consumption

The five-door BMW 1 Series 116d Efficient Dynamics hatchback won the Best Internal Combustion Engine class by achieving 2.3-litres/100km, with a 39% improvement on the official 3.1-litres/100km. The route included uphill sections and busy London traffic and the BMW 116d was driven by Green-Car-Guide.com editor Paul Clarke and Oaktec engineering specialist Paul Andrews who between them have won nine eco-driving events and 24 class wins in special stage rallies.

The Green-Car-Guide team also drove the BMW 1 series 116d Efficiency Dynamics over 800km from north-western England to the southern coast returning an impressive fuel consumption figure of 2.6-litres/100km.

Paul Clarke said, “It is an incredible achievement for a BMW to achieve over 100mpg on a busy Saturday morning drive from Brighton into central London. Hybrids and electric cars certainly have an important future, but it shows that people shouldn’t write off the internal combustion engine yet, as its efficiency is improving all the time.”

The BMW 116d Efficient Dynamics accelerates to 100km/h in 10.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 195km/h. CO2 emissions is rated at 99g/km. The BMW 116d Efficient Dynamics was the only premium brand vehicle in its class.