Posted by Michael Waterman on May 11th, 2012
Just over a year ago, Vehix reported that a Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion TDI set a new world record for the greatest distance traveled by a production passenger car on a single tank of fuel. The Passat TDI covered 1,531 miles.
On late April 16, 2012, a YouTube user named “fldallyb” published a video that talks about his frustration that BlueMotion TDI vehicles could not be purchased in the United States for a variety of reasons (watch video above). He linked to Vehix and our year-old story gained new life. His YouTube video has nearly 450,000 views and we’ve seen comments on our story (and the video) where people express anger with the policies of current or past administrations.
Read: Volkswagen Passat TDI Drives 1,531 Miles On One Tank
Remarkably, nearly one year to the day after we published our story about the record-breaking Passat TDI, Volkswagen announced that a stock 2012 Volkswagen Passat SE TDI Clean Diesel vehicle equipped with a six-speed manual transmission broke the world record by covering 1,626 miles on a single tank of fuel.
That’s a 95-mile improvement–on a regular Passat TDI you can buy today at a local VW dealerships.
84 MPG in a Passat TDI
According to Volkswagen, over the course of three days and driving through nine states, John and Helen Taylor averaged 84.1 miles per gallon and spent only 4.65 cents per mile.
The two green-driving experts started their three-day drive on May 3, 2012 in Houston, Texas and ended the trip in Sterling, Virginia on May 5, 2012.
That’s 1,626 miles, folks. And that’s awfully efficient driving.
The Taylors drove during daylight hours to match normal traffic conditions. They also included 120 pounds of luggage—much more than you’re likely schlepping in your car today.
The couple took turns at the wheel and traveled no more than 14 hours each day.
Prior to the drive, the speedometer and odometer were calibrated by a state certified testing station in Houston, Texas. Law enforcement officers from the city of Houston, Texas oversaw validation of mileage, fuel fill-up, and fuel tank sealing at the beginning of the drive. A Loudoun County, Virginia Sheriff’s Deputy verified completion of the drive and mileage prior to removing the fuel tank seal.
2012 Passat an Impressive Vehicle
The new Volkswagen Passat has gathered plenty of accolades and awards. Motor Trend Car of the Year is the most noteworthy. Cars.com weighed in by naming it their “Best of 2012.” And Vehix editors have been impressed by the roominess, quality and fuel-efficiency of the new Passat.
Read: 2012 Volkswagen Passat Review
Read: 2012 Volkswagen Passat Review – Salt Lake City to Las Vegas on a Half-Tank of Fuel
Read: 2012 Volkswagen Passat a Family Friendly Winner
Now you can add the latest fuel-efficiency record as another reason to test-drive this mid-size sedan.