The good, the bad and the thirsty

Following the item below about the added cost of getting to off-roading destinations due to rising fuel costs, here’s a list of overall litres per 100km consumption of just about all the “real” 4WDs – ones with low-range gearing as standard – on the market. The main thing the list tells me is how far manufacturers have come in curbing the thirst of the big petrol engines. It’s remarkable that the “worst” performer, the AMG Mercedes G Class petrol V8, is able to creep in at just under 16 litres per 100km!

It’s not surprising that the manual Jimny has the lowest consumption, but it has no reason to be proud of the title. The Suzuki's small and light but can only manage a few decimal points advantage over its top two rivals. Jimny’s main problem is that its gearing is too low.

Note that all these figures have been obtained in standardised laboratory testing and while it is supposedly possible to achieve or even better these figures, few drivers do. As a random example, I only managed to get into the high 12s, not the theoretical 10.3, when I had the Land Cruiser 200 and drove it in town, country and on highways.

Off-roading in general and low-range work in particular really affects fuel economy. My petrol Jeep Wrangler, for example, will slip into the low 20s during low-range driving, basically double its 11.8 average.

• To put these figures into perspective, the most economical cars on the local market are able to achieve overall consumption in the 3.9-4.5 l/100km range

l/100km overall
7.2      Suzuki Jimny Sierra manual
7.3      SsangYong Kyron 2.0 diesel
7.6      Suzuki Jimny Sierra auto
7.7      Suzuki Grand Vitara diesel
8.3      Mitsubishi Triton double cab manual
8.3      Toyota Hilux double cab diesel
8.4      Holden Colorado diesel
8.5      Nissan Navara ST-X double cab diesel
8.8      Suzuki Grand Vitara 3 door petrol
8.8      Toyota Prado diesel
8.9      Jeep Cherokee diesel
8.9      Nissan Pathfinder diesel
9.1      SsangYong Rexton II
9.2      Ford Ranger double cab
9.2      Land Rover Discovery 4 diesel
9.2      Mitsubishi Pajero diesel
9.2      Nissan Navara double cab DX
9.3      Mitsubishi Triton double cab auto
9.4      Range Rover Vogue diesel
9.5      Mazda BT-50 double cab
9.8      Range Rover Sport V6 diesel
9.9      Suzuki Grand Vitara Limited
10.3    Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel
10.3    Toyota Land Cruiser 200
10.5    Suzuki Grand Vitara 3 door petrol
11.1    Land Rover Defender
11.2    Mercedes-Benz G Class diesel
11.4    Toyota FJ Cruiser
11.8    Jeep Wrangler petrol
11.9    Toyota Land Cruiser 70
12.0    Jeep Cherokee petrol
13.0    Toyota Hilux double cab petrol
13.0    Toyota Prado petrol
13.5    Mitsubishi Pajero petrol
13.5    Nissan Pathfinder petrol
13.9    Range Rover Sport petrol
14.0    Nissan Navara ST-X double cab petrol
14.1    Land Rover Discovery 4 petrol
14.8    Jeep Grand Cherokee petrol
14.8    Lexus LX570
14.9    Range Rover Sport petrol supercharged
14.9    Range Rover Vogue petrol supercharged
15.9    Mercedes-Benz G Class AMG V8

More on 'All you need to know about Ladas'

This video is to appease those who might have taken offence at this earlier posting on Ladas. You have to admit it's pretty spectacular! Sorry, I don't know its origin – I ripped it off the Internet after it came to my attention.

Don't worry, it's only fuel

A thought in mid March, three months later: With regular petrol now around $2.15 a litre, this posting looks kind-of quaint. Oh for $1.99 petrol again!

Note: eight days after posting this item, diesel and petrol went up another three cents a litre.

As this was written, fuel prices were at their highest for two years and the AA was darkly warning that worse is to come. Apparently it's due to that a weakening dollar and the stockpiling of fuel for the European winter. The oil companies always have reasons that are almost impossible for most of us to dispute.

Apart from their effect on the household budget, our new improved fuel prices have a side effect on some of favorite 4WD activities, like adding a premium to participating in such safaris as the forthcoming Motu and Kauri Coast events. But is the premium as bad as it first seems as the running tally on the pump tops $100 and shows no sign of stopping? You might be surprised.

In 2008 when the last Motu and Kauri Coast were run, 91 octane cost about $1.33 a litre and diesel, $1.04. As this was written, many service stations in Auckland were charging $1.929 for 91 and $1.289 for diesel, although one hopeful major vendor was holding out for $1.329. These prices will be typical for most of the country.

The Motu School, where the safari starts, is about 420km from Auckland and nearly 600km from Wellington. Burning 11 litres per 100km, a typical diesel 4WD would use about 77 litres getting there and back from Auckland, or about $80 worth in 2008. The same trip would cost almost $100 at today's prices. Coming from Wellington would have cost about $113 two years ago and $140 now. A typical petrol 4WD wagon that might burn 15 litres per 100km on a run would have used about $75 worth of 91 for the Auckland-Motu return in 08 and would now be edging $110.

My experience with earlier Motus is that a vehicle will probably go through the best part of a tank during the trip itself. Let's assume a 70 litre tank. That's about $73 for diesel back in 08, and $90 now. A petrol tankful costing $93 back then will cost $135 now.

Of course, RUCs have to be factored into these calculations, bringing the diesel cost much closer to the petrol figures. (For overseas visitors, petrol is taxed at the pump, diesel is taxed by separate Road User Charges that have to be bought in advance in blocks of 1000km. Here's a link to the official site.)

The experts tell us that fuel is the cheapest part of motoring and, indeed, the extra cost of getting to the starting line is still only loose change compared to the cost of safari entry fees, extra accommodation, food not included in the package, wear and tear on the vehicles, and so on.

Fiat to put Jeep on Alfa platform

"It's the new Jeep, isn't it?"

This from the Ausjeep Offroad forum. Nothing to do with New Zealand, at least not yet, but I couldn't resist posting it for your amusement … er, information.

It's beginning to look like Fiat's plan for Chrysler includes heavier use of the C-EVO platform that underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. There's already going to be a Dodge based off the C-EVO, and Fiat has just laid out plans to build a new Jeep model on the platform at the company's Mirafiori plant.

The Jeep will share the production line with Alfa models, and Fiat is trying to get the work rules tweaked to help support the 280,000 vehicle per year volume.

Most of the Italian-built Jeeps will be exported, mainly to the United States. Engines and transmissions will come from Chrysler's US operations, at least for vehicles headed here. Fiat and Chrysler are sharing plants and volume with apparent ease, with a planned Maserati SUV coming out of Detroit's Jefferson North plant and sharing much with the excellent Jeep Grand Cherokee. A mid-size Fiat SUV is also expected to use the Dodge Journey as a canvas; all moves that underscore how stingy things were under Daimler.

In case you wonder why people dislike 4WDers …

This from the December issue of Trail Torque, the NZ Four Wheel Drive Association newsletter:

"The Department of Conservation (DoC) on the Coromandel is investigating a complaint from a landowner at the top end of Maratoto Road, that a group of 4x4 owners cut fences on private land and trees on DoC lands, during a recent weekend. The group was aware that the gate to the Maratoto trail was still closed when it went to the area. The landowner was most annoyed at the attitude of the group when they were approached. DoC is considering prosecutions for the illegal activity.

"Such vandalism is the height of stupidity in an area that already has  limited four wheeling options. Certainly the Maratoto trail itself is late opening this year because of the wet Spring, along with a need to do blasting and then get a digger up the trail to do overdue maintenance, but that does not excuse vandalism."