Proton proves possible to go 700km on one tank

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KUALA LUMPUR: What is the secret to going a distance of more than 700km on just 40 litres of fuel?

Blogger, Yap Kam Foo, 35, who drove the Proton Iriz 1.3 CVT in the final challenge of the Proton 1 Tank Adventure 2018 recently and won in the media category with wife, Brenda Yang, said, “No secret. Just your usual, practical fuel-saving tips: don’t overload the vehicle, don’t overuse the breaks and keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front.”

When he reached the final checkpoint and after using just 24 litres of fuel, his gauge showed he could still go another 450km.

“Fuel-saving is actually subjective and depends on your driving skills and traffic conditions,” he said.

The other winners in the media category were Ross Hadi and Stanley Raymond for the Proton Saga 1.3 CVT, and Mohd Rigval Reza and YS Khong for the Proton Persona 1.6 CVT.

In the non-media category, Omar Abdul Raman and Shukor Jamaluddin won for the Iriz, Mohamad Izaaz Naim and Muhamad Faris Idzham Munawar for the Saga, and Khairul Ashraf and Zuhairie Hafizie for the Persona.

The final 1-Tank challenge, which was to travel from Kulai, Johor to Juru, Penang over two days with a night’s rest in-between, saw the participation of 60 people in 30 cars comprising these Proton models.

The finalists were those who made it through five earlier rounds: Lembah Klang, Kuala Terengganu, Inanam (Sabah), Pasir Gudang and Juru.

Winners were determined based on the most efficient use of fuel. Some drivers resorted to turning off the air-con and cooling off with handheld fans, or opening their windows just a wee bit.

At the finish line, it was worked out that the Saga used an average 4.55 litres of fuel per 100km, the Iriz used 4.6 litres and the Persona used 4.71 litres.

Participant and photographer, Nur Shazreen Zamzuri, 24, said she will treasure her experience.

“It was like being on the Survivor reality show. You had to figure out how to get to your destination on a limited amount of petrol,” she said.

“Realistically, no-one drives at 60-80km per hour, but this experience has taught me what to do if ever there is an emergency and I’m running out of fuel.”

Social media celebrity Nasrul Faiz a.k.a. Faiz Dickie, said: “I’ve been on this adventure three times and on three different courses. One tank is indeed enough if you’re driving at a consistent speed. I even switched on the air-con, but at a low speed,” he said.

Proton used the prize-giving last week as an opportunity to launch the Proton Ertiga Xtra which comes with cosmetic updates to its interior. The Ertiga comes in three variants with a starting price of RM56,773 (on the road, without insurance). —Bernama