Fuel efficiency is a key driver for many fleet operators – and even small savings in daily fuel use can pay enormously over time. Ford recently demonstrated the efficiency of its 2.2-litre Duratorq diesel engine by handing it to a pair of Dubai content creators and asking them to see just how far they could drive a Ranger on a single tank of fuel.
Completed at the height of the Middle East summer, the pair brimmed the 80-litre tank and drove the Ranger on 250km loops of the northern emirates, covering sections of motorway and mountain road driving.
Ahmed Jaffar, who drove throughout, said, “At first, we thought 1,000 kilometres would be a very ambitious target. But as the day wore on, and the Ranger indicated that we could easily exceed that, it became apparent that we were in for far more time behind the wheel than we anticipated.”
In fact, having covered 864 km in the first day of driving and still with a quarter tank of diesel left, the pair were very confident of breaking their initial 1,000 km target as they set out on the second day.
Little did they know that the remaining fuel would actually push them to add another 388 kilometres to their challenge, for a total distance of an incredible 1252 kilometres.
“When we started out, we didn’t really know what we were in for. We thought we might make 500 kilometres, maybe a little further – but to not only break that 1,000 kilometre mark but smash it, was really something,” said Jaffar. “It’s a test I’ll remember for a long time to come.”
