PRETORIA, South Africa, June 2011 – The third and final leg of Ford’s cross country Eco Driving Challenge wrapped up in Cape Town this last weekend, and as in leg one of the competition, Ford South Africa’s Facebook fans once again beat off stiff competition from the likes of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine to reach the top spot.
Three groups of 6 participants each competed in the Ford Figo TDCi Amazing Rally which kicked off with the first group driving from Johannesburg to Durban on a single tank of diesel. The second group drove from Durban to East London, with the final leg starting in Port Elizabeth and ending in Cape Town.
The participants were journalists from across the country whom competed against representatives from Ford’s Facebook fan community over three days of grueling driving in the zippy Figo, the runner up in this year’s Car of the Year competition. The Figo 1.4 TDCi – easily the most affordable diesel passenger car in South Africa, achieves an average fuel consumption of 4.7l/100km, as demonstrated in the 2010 Total Economy Run.
However, Ford’s Facebook fans demonstrated what the Figo TDCi is really made of, beating the standard set by professional drivers over the same course and achieving a very impressive fuel consumption of 4.58l/100km.
All three legs of the Rally were incredibly competitive. Some found innovative ways to clear traffic jams by giving away their snacks to the cars lined up in front of their Figo in exchange for being allowed to skip the queue. Others found ways to distract their competition, sharing false co-ordinates on their new Nokia phones that, if followed, would have taken their competitors into the middle of the ocean! Throughout the three day of fierce competition however, friendships were formed and much fun was had by all.
The ultimate winners, Facebook fans Crystle-Lynne Moore and her brother Bryce will now be joining Ford’s team in the 2011 Total Economy Run later this year, where they will truly be able to put their skills to the test against professional drivers…and if we were the latter, we’d be scared!
