Having recently driven between Sydney and Melbourne on a single tank of fuel in a Golf diesel, we can attest to the economical way in which the modern diesel performs in the real world (that road test is coming soon). Peugeot has just completed an altogether more serious “Coast2Coast” challenge in South Africa with their 308 HDi.

The Peugeot 308 HDi in question, has driven exactly 1689.7 km across South Africa on a single tank of diesel, that’s an average fuel consumption of a ‘hybrid like’ 3.4 L /100 km.

“We knew the 308 HDi was incredibly light on fuel, but we were pleasantly surprised when we pulled up near Durban on the same tank of fuel that it had set off with on the other side of South Africa ‘’, said Mike Wilson, Marketing Manager for Peugeot Motos South Africa

The diesel Peueot completed the challenge by arriving in Umhlanga after setting off from the small town of Kleinzee on the Northern Cape coast.

Peugeot devised the Coast2Coast Challenge to prove a point or two. The first was obviously to showcase the fuel-sipping talents of its ultra-efficient medium size hatchback, but that’s not all. Peugeot also wanted to highlight what motorists can achieve when they choose to drive in an economical manner, not just to help their hip pocket but also to lessen their impact on the environment.

“The success demonstrates that when technology designed with the environment in mind is allied to a fuel efficient driving style, the increased distance between refuelling stops can be startling.”

While the result obtained on the Coast2Coast challenge is remarkable, it still runs second to Peugeot’s recently earned Guinness World Record for fuel efficiency in Australia, where an average distance of 1,919 kilometres was achieved per tank on a drive around the country.