Commentary by Bob Aldons - Northstar Volkswagen

Can you ever imagine a car that you could drive to Sydney AND back using only 10 litres of fuel?

A car that you could use as your daily commute for a month and only having to pay $10 for that precious fuel?

Imagine no more. Volkswagen is already one of the most frugal car companies in the world as far as economy goes - we already have Golf Bluemotion achieving under 4 litres per 100klm, Passat Wagons, with fuel economy of less than 5 litres per 100klm and the XL series vehicles under development by Volkswagen aim to go a lot lower than this.

Why? The fact of the matter is that the world is running low on fossil fuels. W don't have the low fuel warning light blinking just yet, but make no mistake that the world fuel gauge is less than half full. Companies such as Volkswagen have determined that to succeed and prosper in the future, that alternatives have to be found. The XL1 Volkswagen shown at the Qatar motor show is one example of the technical brilliance of the Volkswagen engineers and designers.

Less than 1 litre per 100 kilometres (0.9l/100klm) would have been considered in the realms of fantasy a few years ago, but reality today. Long dead is the concept of V6, V8 and V12 engines for all but the privileged few.

If you want to experience Volkswagen in person, call into Northstar Volkswagen at 322 Anzac Avenue Kippa-Ring on the Redcliffe Peninsula. We're only 15 minutes or so from Brisbane Airport and a leisurely drive down the highway from Noosa, Bundaberg, Maryborough, and a short trip from Nambour, Caloundra, Mooloolaba and Bribie Island. We also get a lot of our customers as FIDO - that's not a dog by the way, that's fly in drive out. With cheap airfares, our customers come in from Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Mt Isa and even Sydney, Melbourne and as far away as Perth.

We'll happily arrange a drive home registration and you know the best thing about this? The drive home gives you just the best running in you'll ever get. New engines love a long drive to bed everything in and you'll get the best economy you've ever experienced. Alternatively if you're time or distance poor, check us out online at www.northstarvw.com.au or read more reviews at www.mycarreview.com.au . Finally, if you can't come to us, we'll come to your home, workplace or worksite - call Northstar on 1300 894 655.

Volkswagen last year showed the third version of the XL1 at the Qatar motor show.

Volkswagen is preparing an ultra-frugal car for production.

The diesel-hybrid coupe - an un-named development of the decade-old 1L (for 1.0 litres/100km) concept - is capable of less than 1 litres/100km (260mpg) yet can top 160km/h.

The refined version of the one-cylinder diesel-hybrid XL1 now has a two-cylinder diesel mated to an electric motor and has batteries that are charged both while driving and via a plug-in cord. Volkswagen last year showed the third version of the XL1 at the Qatar motor show. It was later caught testing the coupe in cold weather and this month was spotted in Spain for its warm-weather tests.

It is a further development of the 2011 XL1 concept that is a two-seater, and has its origins in the tandem-seat, single-cylinder 1L of 2002 that weighed just 290kg and claimed an astonishing 0.99 L/100km. Volkswagen updated the concept in 2009 as the L1 which retained the tandem seating but added a two-cylinder engine, effectively a Golf 1.6-litre turbo-diesel cut in half then mated to a 10.4kW electric motor.

It had a top speed of 160km/h, accelerated to 100km/h in 14.3 seconds and had emissions of 39g/km CO2. The latest XL1 is different again, now a plug-in hybrid that achieves 0.9 L/100km (260mpg) and CO2 emissions of 24g/km. The 800cc, two-cylinder turbo-diesel engine is rated at 35kW/121Nm and the electric motor at 20kW/100Nm.

The two power plants work together or separately and the XL1 can travel up to 35km on electric power alone. Its length and width are similar to the Polo - 3970mm long and 1682mm wide - but it is only 1184mm high. Volkswagen says the 2011 model has a governed top speed of 158km/h and accelerates to 100km/h in 11.9 seconds. In February, Volkswagen said it intended to build a limited series of XL1s starting in 2013.

Commentary by Bob Aldons - Northstar Chrysler

In 2005, the release of the then 300C heralded a joyous time for everyone at Northstar Chrysler Jeep. We'd only been a Chrysler dealer for 2 years and here was the epitome of Detroit - big bold, powerful and angry - a gangster car - a car that didn't just shout, it screamed at the top of its lungs - LOOK AT ME.

And the drive impression of the car was fantastic - muscular, loud and so nice. Even the Rappers bought these - I think it was Snoop Dog who was the first celebrity to own a 300C and then they were featured in television shows - NCIS comes to mind. We've been without the 300 range for about a year now. When the build finished in Austria in 2009, we had a bunch of cars for sale, running out at the end of 2010 to early 2011.

And now it's back - but in a singularly different style - more luxury than gangster, more refinement than muscle, but lurking in the background is a stonking 6.4 litre engine fitted to the SRT8 version. And Chrysler haven't forgotten their 'dark past' planning to sponsor the Dark Knight Rises www.thedarkknightrises.com due in cinemas shortly.  The film features a stunning Chrysler 300 S with the number plates - DK 300S, which Northstar Chrysler has acquired for our  demonstrator fleet.

If you're keen to be one of the first to see new 300 range, call into Northstar Chrysler Jeep Dodge at 320 Anzac Avenue Kippa- Ring on the Redcliffe Peninsula. You can call 1300 894 655 to arrange a time to be the first to see 300 on July 20th when Northstar will hold a special VIP night to welcome the car. Alternatively click through www.northstarchrysler.com.au to register your interest or to read more about 300 from an international perspective, check out all the stories at www.mycarreview.com.au . Northstar Motor Group is located only a 15-20 minute drive from Brisbane Airport and a leisurely drive from Nambour, Caloundra, Noosa and Bribie Island. You folks in Kingaroy and Kilcoy will also be serviced and looked after by Northstar as we welcome you into our market area.

Photo credit: Handout | 2012 Chrysler 300C, front view.

How far can you expect to get on a single litre of fuel?

How far can you expect to get on a single litre of fuel?

It qualifies as the slowest race I’ve ever competed in: drain the fuel tank of a diesel-engined Volkswagen Polo, tip back in a single litre of fuel, and then nurse it along to discover how far you can get.

The German car maker this week attempted an unusual experiment to introduce the Australian motoring media to its fuel economy hero, the Polo 66TDI Comfortline, powered by a not-so-small 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine.

Stick to quiet rural roads and set the cruise control, however, and officially fuel use will fall to 4.0L/100km, which is even better.

But Volkswagen has thrown out a pretty big challenge to us. We’re to pick up our little Polo at Melbourne’s airport, and drive it as fuel-efficiently as we can around a 44-kilometre loop that involves intersections, roundabouts, steep hills and sweeping cuttings.

Making it even more difficult is the realisation that Drive’s Melbourne team has sent its ... ahem ... biggest-boned representative along for the ride. Considering I alone account for almost a 10th of the Polo’s weight before I get in it, I reckon I’m already at a slight disadvantage.

There’s a little relief, then, when former Australian Rally Championship driver Ed Ordynski tells me that the best fuel-use run for the morning, which reeled in about 35 kilometres before conking out on the roadside, was set by the heaviest driver.

Ordynski is probably better known for burning fossil fuels than conserving them. During his rallying career, he says it was quite normal to see fuel use soar as high as 75L/100km during competition, although tooling along the road in between stages his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo would drop to a less jaw-dropping 7.5L/100km.

Ordynski is here for two reasons; to make sure we’re absolutely clear about not cheating by switching off the engine if we’re caught in traffic, and to give us a few pointers about how to drive economically.

Basically, he tells us, the main reason someone will go the furthest distance is all down to luck, mostly in the first 100 metres of the car park. Driving out of the airport, there’s a chance you can get caught up by a long line of passing taxis, while two sets of fuel-sapping traffic lights sit between us and the open road.

Avoid them, he says, and I’m in with a chance.

We depart rally-style, with take-offs coinciding with a spotter who lets us know when the nearest set of traffic lights is in our favour. Ordynski is in the car behind me as I see the signal to go, fire up the engine and almost instantly pop the clutch in second gear to take advantage of the diesel’s pulling power that rivals that of a much larger petrol engine.

Straight away, things start to go pear-shaped. As I nose out of the car park, a stream of taxis flow across the bit of road I’m aiming to join — nothing for it but to tap the brakes and slow right down.

A gap appears, and I’m out on the road to Sunbury, chugging slowly out of the airport under a featherweight throttle as I let revs rise to about 1200rpm before snatching the next gear up.

The road forms a single lane, and very soon there’s a queue of cars behind me as I build speed as slowly as I can. Before too long there’s the telltale flash of headlights, so I’m forced to squeeze the throttle a bit more and get up near the 100km/h speed limit to appease the growing conga line. I’m cursing them, though, as much as I’m sure they’re cursing me.

A lazy run to the first roundabout is an opportunity to experiment a bit with the Polo and work out that there’s no benefit in letting the car look after the hills on its own account.

Once the engine starts to stall, the Polo’s electronic nerve centre will inject more fuel into the cylinder, delivering more power to keep the engine alive but at the expense of a fuel use figure jumping as high as 15.0L/100km.

It’s better, then, I work out, to invest in a light throttle on the downhill sections to help the Polo climb the gentle slopes on the other side. If I do this, I can keep fuel use on the uphill sides to below 10.0L/100km.

After an ugly start, I’m now having a dream run. The roundabout is a lazy curve and free of traffic, and a long, straight section of rural road means I can chug along in fifth gear at 60-odd and get my race face on.

In this instance, my race face looks a little red, sweaty and grim. In the interests of conserving fuel, I’ve switched off the radio and air-conditioning despite the blazing sun, so I’m starting to get a little hot and bored.

Cracking the driver’s window a little helps with the heat. A steep cutting — the first significant topographic obstacle I’ve faced in the first 10 kilometres — helps with the boredom.

Once again, the Polo is smarter than I am. I could easily pop the clutch and use the brakes to regulate speed while coasting down the steep, sweepingly curved decline, but the engine has a cut-off system that stops feeding fuel into the engine when it’s not needed.

I’m better off, then to use a combination of the engine’s compression and the brakes to slow the car down for corners, and use a little throttle-induced momentum to get up the other side.

I’d rather not talk about the climb. For the economy racer, it was akin to having your heart ripped out of your chest. Let’s just say the fuel-use indicator climbed to figures more representative of summer heat than ideal beer-consumption temperatures. You get the idea.

About the 20-kilometre mark dishes up a T-intersection. The grass has grown quite high on the road margins, so despite the give-way sign a safe turn requires an almost complete stop.

Not long after, Ordynski appears in his car and flashes past. It may be five years since he last raced competitively, but it looks as though the need to get in front is still much stronger than the need to conserve fuel.

It pays off as the odometer ticks over the 30-kilometre mark. Not long into it, Ordynski is pulled over on the side of the road, his litre fully expended.

Pressing on with a growing sense of Toyota Prius-like smugness, the kilometres climb higher and higher. I’m nervous as I reach, then pass, the best distance of the earlier competitors.

Tragically, I take a wrong turn at a roundabout. It’s simply fixed by completing a U-turn, but I’ve had to expend more precious fuel idling on the side of the road waiting for a gap in the traffic, and then building momentum from a complete stop.

The next think I know, and I’m past the 40-kilometre mark and in sight of the airport. I pass another competitor on the side of the road near the northern end of the runway, and the excitement builds. I’m going to make it all the way back!

Again, there’s now a long snake of traffic trailing out behind me. I’m forced to coax the little Polo along using the throttle as I hit 90km/h.

What was that? Did the Polo just give a little hiccup? I can see the sign saying ‘‘Airport’’ spearing off the left of the Sunbury road, but I’m now a little worried that it may be a turn too far.

The road dips down and then sweeps right to a fairly short but steep climb into the airport access road, the car park and the finish line.

As I come down, the little Polo gives a cough and the engine dies. It’s as far as I’ll be going today — I’m now into survival mode, trying to coax the car across two lanes of traffic as it rapidly loses momentum.

The blue ute behind me offers a few words of encouragement — ‘‘What are you doing, you d**khead?’’ — as I hit the hazard light switch, make room and swing left to the kerb travelling on nothing but hope and momentum.

I’m less than 500 metres away from the destination. After travelling 43.47 kilometres on its equivalent of a small milk carton of fuel, this last hill proves a challenge too far.

I’m not the winner. A lone car covered the extra few hundred metres to the finish line, running out of fuel only when its driver went to nurse it back into its original parking spot.

The cruel hand of fate, then, has decided that on this day, Ed Ordynski and I will not be winners.

However, If I’d kept going with the Polo’s 65-litre tank full, and assuming the same 2.3L/100km fuel use rate as our test, I could theoretically drive the smallest VW from Melbourne to Cairns without needing a single refuel.

I could never do that, though. Just like Ordynski, I’ll probably always give in to the temptation of wanting to be first past the line.

Volkswagen Australia donated $10 for every kilometre travelled during the Polo One-Litre Challenge to  Queensland flood relief.