[rohitbagai]

New Delhi, Jan 14, 07:: It was a Sunday with a difference for 60 Verna owners in Delhi. Apart from a joy ride in their favourite car, the group had a great time with loads of fun and games.
The event was the Hyundai "Verna Mile & Smile rally", organized by Hyundai Motor India for its valued Verna customers – to give them a chance to guage the mileage of their car, learn the techniques of fuel efficient driving and also win prizes in the process. The event was co-sponsored by State Bank of India(SBI); associate sponsors were Indian Oil, HDFC and ICICI Lombard.
The route chosen was the highway between Delhi and Agra till Kosi.
The concept of the rally was to promote fuel efficient driving habits among its Verna customers. Fossil fuel is becoming expensive and a sparse commodity, consequently judicious use of the fuel is a must if we are to conserve this resource. In this, driving habits make a big difference. It not only contributes to savings on the part of the owners but also saves precious resources.
Before the start of the rally participants were briefed on the techniques of fuel efficient driving and driving styles which will improve the fuel effeciency of their vehicle considerably. The idea was simple. All participants tanked up at the nearby filling stations and their tanks were sealed which ensured that they could not refuel during the course of the rally.
Their trip meter was made Zero and the Odometer reading noted down by the organisers. To ensure absolute tranparency the tank was filled up in the presence of the participants, sealed and entries were made in the log book. After this, they were flagged off on the rally. On return, the same procedure was followed. The amount of fuel consumed was measured and the participant who used the least amount of fuel was declared the winner. The contest was held for owners of both the petrol and diesel variants of the Verna.
The rally was flagged off by former J&K Chief Minister and veteran politician,Dr. Farooq Abdullah from Hotel Crowne Plaza, New Delhi at 9:00 AM. Verna drivers Rajeev Gupta who secured a mileage of 21.46 kms in petrol and Mr. Deepak Sharma who secured an average of 38.7 kms in Diesel were given Gift vouchers worth Rs 25,000 by Mr. Gautam Kanjilal, Chief General Manager, Personal Banking, State Bank of India Delhi Region. The first and second runners up in both Petrol & Diesel categories were given gift vouchers worth 15,000/- & 10,000/- each.
The afternoon was as exciting as the morning with plenty of fun, games and prizes galore.
The Miles & Smiles Rally is a first Hyundai Verna Mileage Rally organised by Hyundai Motor India after its national Verna launch in September this year.
Source:- Hyundai press release

[tifosikrishna]

Were there any checks to ensure that cars were not towed????

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

Were there any checks to ensure that cars were not towed????

Or running some stretches on inertia with the engines switched off.

[iraghava]

It's the usual marketing gimmick which has been used by Maruti for so many years to quote unbelievable figures to help their car sales. A more sophisticated version of the same was recently done by Ford using ACI in which the Fiesta achieved figures by running at constant speeds on a track & the FE was quoted as if our driving enviroment is similar to the race track.

It's nothing but just bull**** by the companies to lure customers by quoting astronomical figures. Still goes to show what an FE-centric bunch of customers our market has.

I would take all these figures with not a pinch but a truckfull of salt!

[Dippy]

I have attended a similar type of rally for the GM Optra from Mumbai to Pune. The cars are not really driven as they would normally be really. As I was covering the event for a mag I followed the cars in a Qualis given to me. The Optras would drive at a speed of 40-50 kph without the AC and the SVRMs closed in the leftmost lane of the Expressway. With these conditions you are bound to get good FE. The first prize winner got 23 kph in the Optra 1.8. The 1.6 was not even out then .

This was in Dec 2003

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by iraghava

A more sophisticated version of the same was recently done by Ford using ACI in which the Fiesta achieved figures by running at constant speeds on a track & the FE was quoted as if our driving enviroment is similar to the race track.

Also it speaks about the infrastructure. If the infrastructure is excellent and if traffic moves smoothly with less stoppages, see the FE our cars can clock !

Government can save a lot on FOREX if FE doubles or nearly doubles.

[benbsb29]

Looks like with Ford doing this with the Fiesta to grab consumer attention, Hyundai have also taken a leaf from their book. With Limca declaring Fiesta as a record holder, maybe Hyundai shud have tried the Guiness Book of Records?

[rks]

I also suspect that the cars were tuned down for mileage. Nobody checked if the cars had normal pick-up or if any other tampering was done with the engine. I am sure that the cars sold to customers will not be tuned like that, as probably long-term damage to engine will result.

[Mp421b]

well, such kind of average is done only in comepetitions. i don think it is practically possible to get near it....

[kutlee]

Reminds me of TG episode in which Jeremy travelled from London to Edinburgh and back in an Audi Diesel with double the FE figures that Audi actually told he will get max. Its possible. Reduce drag as much as possible. No A/c, radio, using brakes, gear changes, stoppages etc etc. Then whats the point in a Car!

[kkr2k2]

hey finetunning, did the hyundai guys consult you before organissing event in adding something to the fuel
by the way, were the fuel tanks of the cars emptied before the first tank fill or just filled the fuel tank mixing with existing fuel (refer to the first line ;-) ..... )

if the case is that the engine has been undertuned to achieve higher FE, then there is some good scope for the verna owners to detune their cars to get a better FE if not what the winners got. but be carefull not to detune too much.

I am wondering what kind of tricks w.r.t. tuning can be done to increase FE. something like pete's box but instead mimics for leaner fuel mixture??

[tsk1979]

Its not surprising since ideal condition driving conditions can get such mileage.
In another competition held few years back the zen D got 39kmpl and the octy owners getting around 33kmpl.
These are ideal driving conditions.

[supremeBaleno]

However much we know that these are just gimmicks and the results possible only in ideal/controlled conditions, companies do stand to gain from this. After the Ford Fiesta exercise, here I have my colleagues all talking about 30kmpl+ mileage for the TDCi, without any idea about how that figure was achieved. This will surely translate into sales and the company laughs to the bank. Why would they care about the poor chap who expects that much FE in real life and ends up disappointed ?

[normally_crazy]

Such figures are possible - I got a 33 ka figure once from Alibaug to Chembur , driving in pretty much the same way that Dippy explained. This in the 1.9 TDi .....only I did not fold in the OVRM's.

[rks]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Its not surprising since ideal condition driving conditions can get such mileage.

In this case apparently the Delhi-Agra highway was used. I am sure it is a wide road and on a Sunday morning there will not be too much traffic. But was the road closed for other users while this event was held? I imagine heavy vehicles will not be welcome for they might block the road forcing gear changes. But if the road was not closed for other users, then these mileage figures are still remarkable, and in my opinion, unlikely to be achievable in a stock Verna in showroom condition.