Yes. Ford managed an amazing 1013 miles on a single tank of fuel, equivalent to driving from Land’s End to John O’Groats and still having 200 miles range left in the tank.

As I wrote recently, most car manufacturers are now producing equivalent ‘eco’ versions of their main car models (Renault has just launched its greenest model ever). They use techniques such as modified gear ratios, extra aerodynamic bodywork and other changes to achieve this. While some people may dismiss these models as gimmicks, all the evidence suggests that they deliver real world benefits.

Tom Ford didn’t use any special efficiency driving techniques to achieve this result although he did switch off the air conditioning, keep the windows closed and leave the radio off – all techniques that will help fuel consumption. He also limited his motorway speed to around 65-70mph – a little slower than normal (especially in Germany) but still perfectly acceptable and safe.

Ford admits that his techniques will have helped improve fuel consumption but believes that “even driven normally I still think you’re looking at 750-800 miles per fill.” The BMW’s fuel consumption didn’t dip below 65mpg for the entire trip – and reached a high of 75.9mpg – pretty impressive.

Cars like the 320d EfficientDynamics have another attraction, too. Their low CO2 emission ratings mean that they often fall into a lower tax band than the standard versions of the same cars. The 320d EfficientDynamics has a CO2 emissions rating less than 110g/km – this means that road tax in 2010/11 would only be £20 and would be free in the first year of registration (see here for full details of car tax (VED) costs in 2009/10 and 2010/11).

The trip received a full write-up in last week’s Sunday Times, but you can see a video of his trip on Facebook – click here.

The Renaul Clio Eco2 model - CO2 emissions are just 98g/km

Renault has just launched its lowest-emission production model ever – the new Clio eco².

It’s one of a range of eco² models being produced by the French manufacturer, who will be launching an all-electric range of vehicles next year, too.

Renault is by no means unique in having special eco-friendly models that are designed to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption – but unlike some other manufacturers, it is pricing them at the same level as its regular models, rather than charging a premium for the greener specification.

The Clio eco² has CO2 emissions of just 98g/km – meaning that road tax will be free (2010/11 figures) and an official combined fuel consumption figure of 76.3mpg – even allowing for some real-world worsening of this, it should still be a pretty frugal car to run.

The Clio eco² is powered by a 1.5-litre dCi diesel that offers 86hp and good driving performance. It is priced from £12,690 and orders are now being taken by Renault dealers – so if the eco² attracts you, why not pay your nearest dealer a visit?

I came across this A-Z guide to electric cars in The Telegraph today and thought it was excellent. It is a little long but covers all the issues in a clear, simple and jargon-free way.

Click here to take a look if you would like to know more about electric cars.

The Daily Mail writer gets quite lyrical about the car’s environmental credentials, but does miss a few points, from a technical point of view:

• There is no such thing as a “biodiesel engine”, it is a diesel engine with some slight modifications
• Old diesel engines are generally quite easy to convert to biodiesel, vegetable oil and even used chip fat  – newer diesel engines, on the other hand, are much less tolerant of such fuels
• By running on vegetable oil, Buzz may be happy that he isn’t producing any carbon emissions, but increased  use of vegetable oil as a fuel is having a serious environmental impact – just not in the UK. Parts of Asia and South America, for example, have suffered increased levels of deforestation to make way for new palm oil plantations
• Finally, despite its low carbon fuels, this thing is heavy and has the aerodynamics of a brick – so fuel efficiency is bound to be pretty poor.

Click this link for pictures of Womble and its owner.

What is more interesting is how successful car manufacturers are being at producing models with great fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. Over the last couple of years, most of the major car manufacturers have introduced specific branding for their low emissions/fuel efficient models, highlighting the most environmentally-friendly cars in their ranges.

Here are a few examples of badges you may have seen around:

• ECOnetic (Ford)
• ecoFLEX (Vauxhall)
• EfficientDynamics (BMW)
• Bluemotion (Volkswagen)
• eco2 (Renault)
• Blue Lion (Peugeot)

All of these badges are used to denote standard models that have had a package of modifications made to their normal specifications, with two aims – saving you money and saving the environment:

• Lower CO2 emissions – resulting in a lower car tax band
• Improved fuel efficiency – an obvious attraction, especially at the moment!

Does It Really Work?

Yes. The claimed emissions and fuel economy figures for these models are pretty impressive and many of them are nearly achievable, assuming a reasonable mixture of journey types and a careful, fuel-efficient driving technique.

I know someone with a Ford Focus ECOnetic and without much effort, he can average 55mpg. Noted car expert Honest John also reported that he averaged more than 56mpg over 3,000 miles in his Ford Focus ECOnetic test car in real world driving conditions, including urban driving, traffic jams, rural roads, steep hills and photo shoots (not sure about that last one…).

How Does It Work?

Each manufacturer does things slightly differently but there are a number of popular approaches to optimising fuel consumption and emissions. Some cars use more of these techniques than others:

• Adjust the gear ratios – making top gear in particular a bit higher, so revs are lower at motorway speeds, saving fuel
• Fit extra aerodynamic bodywork to reduce drag, including panels under the car
• Save weight by using lightweight materials and not including a spare wheel
• Choose low rolling resistance tyres, such as Michelin’s Energy Saver car tyres
• Adjust engine tuning to reduce power and concentrate torque at low revs, reducing the need to rev the engine so much – high revs use more fuel
• Automated start-stop systems that cut the engine when you are idle in traffic and then restart it as soon as you put the clutch down
• Low-friction oils (yes, really)
• Gear shift indicators to help you change gear at the optimum time
• Regenerative braking systems that store energy created during braking and then use it to reduce the load on the alternator, which saves fuel (getting a bit technical here, I know – apologies)

If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably got the idea by now – by tweaking a load of things, car manufacturers can optimise their designs for low emissions and fuel efficiency. I am certain that these techniques will gradually become standard – just like catalytic converters are today. It wasn’t so long ago that some car manufacturers fitted a badge to models with catalysts, boasting about their environmental credentials!

Should I Buy One Of These ‘ECO’ Models?

Why not? You’ll enjoy lower (possibly even zero) road tax and lower fuel bills. I would probably buy one if I was in the market for a new car at the moment. Most of the models on offer are diesel, but if you are happy with that then you will find that despite their lower emissions, they still offer decent performance and good interior specification.

It’s the shape of things to come, that’s for sure.

• Remove the manual window winder
• Fit a plastic box to the door panel (the boxes contained an electric motor that fitted over the winder and a switch to operate the window)
• Wire the ‘electric window’ in to the car’s electrics

These boxes were about the size of half a brick and about as pretty – you wouldn’t put up with it today, even on a second-hand car.

Strangely enough, however, one thing today’s drivers do seem happy to put up with is sticking a plastic box to their windscreen or dashboard and then dangling a wire from it down to their cigarette lighter socket. They are also happy to remove and refit this contraption every time they leave their cars, to prevent someone breaking in and stealing it.

Renault's Carminat TomTom satellite navigation system is now standard on many of its cars

This contraption is, of course, sat nav. Fortunately for people like me, who don’t like trailing wires everywhere, history seems to be repeating itself and satellite navigation is an increasingly common standard fitment in many new cars and vans.

Renault, for example, has just announced that its Carminat TomTom satellite navigation system, which is built in to the dashboard, will now be fitted as standard on many more of its models. The updated system will also include, as standard, coverage of 50 countries, lane guidance and TomTom’s IQ Routes system, which uses real-time traffic data to help plan the most efficient route.

It looks like the booming market in satellite navigation units could start to fade away in the next 5 years – after all, who sells electric window winders now?

One of the ways they manage it is by using winter tyres in winter! In many European countries, it’s actually a legal requirement from around October/November through to the spring.

You may not realise it, but the vast majority of tyres fitted to UK road cars are actually summer tyres, designed for use when the temperature is well above freezing and there’s no ice or snow on the ground. Come winter, these summer tyres are useless.

According to tyre maker Continental, winter tyres account for just 0.5% of UK tyre sales – yet they also say that winter tyres perform better whenever temperatures fall below 7 degrees, not just in snow and ice. The main difference is that winter tyres have a slightly blockier tread and are made from slightly softer compound rubber, making them more flexible and grippy in very cold conditions.

In case you aren’t convinced, take a look at this video of a tyre test by Autocar magazine. Even accounting for the difference in cars, it makes a strong argument for the performance of winter tyres.

Update: On a final note, don’t think that because you’ve got four wheel drive you are immune from snow problems. Proper 4WD cars with off road tyres may do much better – think Land Rovers, for instance – but many ’soft roaders’ like the Honda CR-V don’t do much better at all – because they’ve just got summer road tyres on. Andrew Frankel illustrates this graphically in this blog post!

If you aren’t familiar with roof boxes, they are basically moulded plastic boxes that fit onto roof bars on top of your car – like this:

When choosing a roof box, you need to consider a couple of things:

• How much you want to carry – don’t have a box bigger than necessary
• Whether you will want to use the roof rack for anything else at the same time – such as a bike. Half width roof boxes are available that allow you to carry a bike or skis on the roof at the same time.

Whichever roof box you choose, you will also need roof bars. These fit across the roof of your car – the roof box will mount on these bars. Roof bar fittings are often car-specific, so you must ensure you buy the right fittings for your car.

Halfords stocks a wide range of roof bar fittings, roof bars and roof boxes – it makes an excellent place to start your roof box research.

Bike racks allow you to carry one or more bicycles on the outside of your car – keeping the inside clean and free for passengers and regular luggage.

Bike racks are relatively cheap and can be used to carry up to 4 bikes, depending on design. This makes them suitable for individuals, couples and families. There are, however, a few important choices you need to make if you are considering buying a bike rack for your car.

What Type of Fitting?

Bike racks come in three main types of fitting – roof rack, tow bar and rear mounted. Each has a number of pros and cons.

Roof Mounted Bike Racks

Roof racks have several advantages:

• They allow free access to the boot of your car when the bikes are in place
• They don’t increase the length of your car or require a rear numberplate/light board
• You can often use the roof rack for carrying other objects too, not just bikes

There are, however, some disadvantages, too:

• Overall vehicle height increases dramatically – you may have problems with some car park height barriers
• Can be awkward to lift bikes on and off the roof without damaging paintwork/straining yourself

Rear Mount Bike Racks

Rear-mounted cycle carriers generally fit over the back of the car.

Advantages include:

• Increase in overall vehicle height is kept to a minimum
• Easier to lift bikes on and off than with a roof rack
• Keeps roof free for a roof box – handy for family holidays

There are some disadvantages, too:

• Many rear mount bike racks obscure the car’s rear lights and/or number plate. This is illegal so you may require a number plate or light board for the back of your car.
• Rear mount bike carriers place additional weight at the rear of your car, rather than balancing it in the centre
• Rear mount bike racks increase the overall length of your car, meaning that parking in tight spaces can become more difficult

Towbar Bike Racks

Towbar bike racks share many of the advantages and disadvantages of rear mount bike carriers. The main difference is that they mount on your tow bar, rather than on your car. This reduces the chance of damage to paintwork and may enable you to open your boot more easily when the rack is fitted.

Halfords offers a good range of bike racks, including all the major types I have described above. It’s a good place to start when looking for a cycle carrier – especially as you will be able to see most of the racks in the flesh and get an idea of how easily they might fit to your car.

As with most car accessories, Halfords also offers a fitting service for bike racks.

People with new cars may find this is a doddle – many cars now come with connections for mp3 players already fitted. A friend’s 07 reg Ford Focus, for example, has a connector for mp3 players in the glove box.

Owners of older vehicles may find that a little more ingenuity is required. There are several possibilities:

1. Your car stereo has an ‘Aux in’ socket on it.
2. Your car stereo has a tape slot.
3. Your car stereo has neither a tape slot nor an ‘Aux in’ socket.

1. Using ‘Aux in’ Sockets

‘Aux in’ stands for auxiliary input and it allows you to plug a music playing device into your car stereo and play it through the car’s speakers.

Usually, this requires a cable with a 3.5mm stereo mini jack at each end (like the plug on most headphones). You plug one end into the headphone socket of your mp3 player and the other end into your car stereo.

2. Using A Tape Adaptor

Those of you with older cars may still be blessed with an in-car cassette player. This gives you the option of using a tape adaptor to connect your mp3 player to your car stereo.

Although tape adaptors are cheap, most of them are pretty rubbish, too. You have been warned.

The only one I know of (I use one myself) that seems reliable and provides good quality sound is the Sony CPA-9 car adapter. The only problem is that this model seems to be hard to find in the UK – try eBay or Amazon marketplace.

3. Radio Adapters

If your car stereo doesn’t have a tape slot or an ‘aux in’ connection, then your only option is to use a radio adapter.

These devices are basically low power radio transmitters that plug in to your mp3 player’s headphone socket. You then tune your car radio into the right frequency and listen to your music on the radio.

Although this sounds like a brilliant solution, these do have their problems, too. On long journeys, you will have to change frequencies sometimes to avoid interference. Sound quality is not always great, either, especially on really cheap models.

These are the three main options – cable, tape adapter or radio. If you can connect your mp3 player directly to your car stereo with a cable, then do it – you will get the best sound, reliability and least hassle.