We averaged 27.6km/L in the new Audi A3 to win another efficiency challenge

Audi invited us on an efficiency challenge in the revamped A3 sedan to see just how little fuel we needed to get to and from Ipoh.

Not long after winning our last efficiency challenge, the call came for us to defend our eco-championship, this time in the latest Audi A3. However, as a Cat A-friendly 1.5-litre compact sedan, the A3 is an entirely different kettle of fish than the last car we hypermiled, so would we be able to emerge victorious once more?

Our 760km route would bring us from Singapore to Ipoh before coming back down to the finish line in Kuala Lumpur. There were two A3s, each shared by four people, that would be competing for the best fuel numbers and apart from a firm arrival time, there were no rules either for how to achieve those numbers. 

Tank sealed and ready to go!

Each team also had a new A5 at their disposal to act as a support car as well as the subject for an accompanying photography challenge that Audi had set up. The teams of four would split themselves into pairs and decide amongst themselves who would drive which car and when. 

Our team decided that the best way forward was to use everything from the hypermiling textbook. We also decided that since myself and my co-driver were the same pairing that won our previous efficiency challenge, we would be the pair to endure the longer drive on the first day from Singapore to Ipoh. 

No air-con means no sleeves for me either.

Immediately after crossing the border at Tuas Checkpoint, we pulled into the first petrol station and began stripping the car of everything we could to save weight. The headrests, floor mats, tyre repair kit, and even the cigarette lighter were taken out and placed in the A5 support car. 

We also raised the tyre pressures to reduce the rolling resistance of the tyres in a bid to extract as much from the A3 as we could. But most of all, we declared that once again, we would drive with no air-conditioning at all, no matter how hot the weather got. 

This would be the last time the temperature in the car was nice.

Thankfully, the drive started at 5.30am in the pouring rain, which made our air-con-less drive much more tolerable and we sought to cover as much ground as we could while the weather was still cool. 

However, as this was an efficiency challenge, we couldn’t just blast down the highways like we usually would, instead, we feathered the throttle, using as little of the A3’s 116hp as possible to keep us at speed. 

The journey trickled by and before long the sun (and the corresponding temperature) rose. We had planned for our first stop to be Ayer Keroh R&R, 230km north of our starting point. Here, we’d do a driver swap as well as unleash our secret weapon. Masking tape. 

Perhaps I should've paid more attention in art class.

In the heat of the morning sun, my co-driver and I went to work taping over all the panel gaps on the front of our A3. This would reduce aerodynamic drag, which would help increase our efficiency. 

For added effect, we also taped up the rear door handles and the gap between the rear window and boot lid. But the pièce de résistance was the homemade masking tape aerodiscs we created for the rear wheels to smooth out the turbulent airflow.

It may not be pretty but it did the trick.

Based on our best guesstimates, the live fuel consumption figure pre-masking tape was about 20km/L when travelling at 90km/h while slipstreaming. However, in our A3 "Low Drag Configuration” variant, we would hit that same 20km/L figure at the same speed but now without a slipstream.

Over the next 350km or so to our stop in Ipoh, we managed to average an indicated 27.4km/L with slipstreaming while still travelling at 90-105km/h. Our competitor’s team had gone for the alternative strategy of simply driving slowly, averaging 70-80km/h instead.

Here we see the A3 Low Drag Configuration in its natural habitat, i.e. drafting a truck.

Our first day’s average of 27.4km/L is significantly more than the official claimed consumption of 16.1km/L, although our methods were rather extreme. The next day, our teammates continued to improve on our fuel mileage with the trip computer showing a stunning 30.2km/L consumption figure when they parked the car up at the finish line. 

The result of the efficiency challenge was not tabulated based on the trip computer data, instead, the crew filled the cars back up to see just how much fuel we used on our journey.

We got funny looks from many people, but there's nothing funny about saving petrol.

Our A3 used just 27.6 litres of petrol over 762.7km, equating to 27.6km/L which was enough to secure the victory for our team, making our blood, sweat, and tears (more like sweat, sweat, and more sweat) worthwhile.

However, the opposing A3 only trailed us by just 1km/L, slim margins indeed considering the extent of our modifications. This just goes to show that even in the A3’s stock form with air-con on, with some mindful driving, you can still achieve a phenomenal 26km/L, still 10km/L better than the official claimed figure. 

While our effort and ingenuity definitely played a part in securing the win, the Audi A3 proved to be an extremely capable companion on the road, keeping us safe, composed, and impressively efficient. 

Even with fewer tricks and the air-con on, it still delivered stellar numbers, proving that you don’t need to suffer to save fuel. But you know what they say, air-con comfort is temporary, glory is forever.

I promise we showered before we accepted the prize.

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