Honda Civic Hybrid Wins AA EnergyWise Award

Honda Civic Hybrid Wins AA EnergyWise Supreme Award

The Supreme Award winner of the 2006 AA EnergyWise Rally is the Honda Civic Hybrid.

The Honda Civic Hybrid covered the Rally route with the lowest overall vehicle running cost. It cost $105.80 for the Honda Civic Hybrid to drive the 1,624 km rally route. It was driven by Glenn and Helen Johnston.

Stella Stocks, AA General Manager for Technical Services says “the Honda Civic Hybrid has a reputation for outstanding fuel efficiency. The combination of technology and driver skill means that when driven correctly, the Honda Civic Hybrid is a very economic vehicle.”

“The Rally’s diesel vehicles also performed very well, proving themselves to be incredibly fuel efficient. Unfortunately, the way Road User Charges are currently applied means the fuel efficiency of these smaller diesel vehicles is not recognised nor rewarded. The AA believes it is time to review the existing RUC system to recognise the positive benefits of small fuel efficient diesel vehicles,” says Ms Stocks.

The winner of the AA EnergyWise Environment Award is the Smart Fortwo Coupe. The Mercedes manufactured vehicle demonstrated the lowest fuel consumption (adjusted for CO2 emissions) of all entrants in the Rally.

Bill Boyd, Marketing Manager for EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) says “we are delighted that the Rally has an environment award and it is pleasing to see companies, such as Mercedes, selling vehicles that produce such low levels of harmful emissions”.

The winners of the AA EnergyWise Driver Award are Graham Sharp and Neil Gyde who demonstrated the most effective fuel-saving driving technique during the Rally.

Their Ford BF Fairmont MKII officially consumes 15.1 litres of LPG fuel per 100 kms. However, Graham and Neil’s fuel efficient driving technique saw the vehicle consume only 10.52 litres of LPG fuel per 100 kms, a 30.34% improvement.

Dave Bodger, General Manager of Gull New Zealand Ltd, says “regardless of the vehicle make and model, and the fuel used, the essential environmental factor with any car is the driver’s attitude. People will choose cars that suit their needs but the driver award shows that every one of us can contribute to a better environment by driving in a fuel efficient manner. That is something that Gull New Zealand fully supports.”

The AA EnergyWise Rally is New Zealand’s only car rally to promote fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness. It is designed to identify the most fuel efficient new cars and the most effective fuel-saving driving techniques over a four day period. The Rally is held every two years and is organised by the AA and EECA, (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority). Fuel is being supplied free of charge to all vehicles by Gull New Zealand Ltd.

The winners of the 2006 AA EnergyWise Rally, were announced at an awards dinner held at the Ellerslie Convention Centre in Auckland tonight. The dinner was attended by over 200 vehicle industry representatives and invited guests and marked the end of a challenging week for the 108 drivers of the 54 vehicles involved in the Rally. In addition to the AA EnergyWise Environment Award, the AA EnergyWise Driver Award and the AA EnergyWise Supreme Winner, awards were presented to the winners of each of the seven vehicle classes and the demonstration class.

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