Have you entered the Peugeot Eco Cup challenge? We have, and we are quietly confident that our entry will, erm, probably end up in the bin.
Peugeot has launched the Eco Cup in an attempt to highlight the miserly fuel consumption of its latest diesels, specifically the HDi varieties of its 207 supermini, 308 C-segment hatch, 3008 oddball and 5008 MPV. All of the HDi cars turn in impressive mpg figures and the Eco Cup is a clever attempt to drum up some attention for them. We’re not sure what happened to Peugeot’s “Blue Lion” eco branding, by the way – the label is notable only by its absence on the Eco Cup web site.
The challenge will see four teams drawn from entrants across 18 countries compete in a race between Paris and Geneva, starting on the last day of February and concluding 36 hours later, in time for the opening of the Geneva motor show. And by race we mean crawl, really – with the emphasis on tortoise- over hare-style progress. The winners will be the drivers who use the least Derv to complete the cross-border route and, with 622 miles to cover, competitors could make the distance within the allotted time by travelling at less than 18mph. We assume most will go slightly faster and stop for a rest, of course.
By way of a line in the sand, Peugeot works racing driver Stéphane Sarrazin has taken each of the four cars along the fixed route to record a consumption score that the Cup finalists will need to beat. And don’t imagine that Le Mans veteran Sarrazin is a lead-foot who has racked up scores in the low teens – in his day job, careful fuel conservation can keep a driver out of the pits and on the podium. His highly impressive scores are:
- 207 HDi: 80.7mpg
- 308 HDi: 78.5mpg
- 3008 HDi: 70.7mpg
- 5008 HDi: 67.3mpg
Entries close on 12 February, and all you have to do is pick your favoured vehicle and then write something clever, witty or pithy, in 140 characters or less, that encapsulates the secrets of greener motoring.
The team that records the best consumption score in each of the four vehicles will get to keep the car. Or, given that each team is made up of two individuals, winning drivers will be awarded half a car and the opportunity to fight over the whole.
