Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 at 18:47
This is the fuel summary from the SMH:
Don't fuel around
The Simpson is one of a handful of major
treks in Australia where you'll probably need to carry additional fuel.
Birdsville to Mount Dare is almost 600 kilometres, which all of these cars will do in regular driving. But throw in the soft sand and hills to climb, and it's a different story.
It was the Patrol that needed the most. On top of its 140-litre tank we pumped 60 litres from jerrycans. In the end it used about 180 litres - upwards of 30 litres per 100 kilometres in rougher stretches - with the average fuel use across our
test route (
Birdsville to
Kulgera, in the Northern Territory) of 18.9L/100km.
It was closely followed by the LandCruiser, which used 17.4L/100km. What raised the Cruiser's overall fuel use was the higher-speed running - it had a packed roof rack that ruined its aerodynamic drag.
But the Cruiser was frugal in the rough stuff, arriving at Mount Dare with 200 kilometres of range in its 138-litre tank. It was the only one that would cross
the desert without a jerrycan.
The Range Rover was most economical, using just 12.3L/100km, but its tiny, 80-litre tank meant it needed at least one jerrycan to cross.
The Benz's 100-litre tank and 14.9L/100km fuel use meant it almost made the crossing without extra fuel, but we put in five litres just to be sure.
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