Some of you will know that I have set several Guinness World Records over the years, all focused on vehicle efficiency. My latest challenge takes my total to seven, and for Corporate Car, I thought I’d share what actually happens behind the scenes, from the checks and teamwork to the driving techniques that helped us achieve the result.

The Challenge

Let’s start at the beginning. All my previous records were set in EVs, so this challenge was a little different, as it involved a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Does this mean I have turned my back on EVs? No way. Vehicles have to suit many different lifestyles, and PHEVs can provide an important bridge for drivers who want to switch but are not yet sure whether a fully electric vehicle will work for them. This is also a new generation of rechargeable hybrid, capable of covering more than 50 miles on electric power alone while remaining efficient on petrol thereafter.

Tasked with demonstrating the efficiency of the Jaecoo 7 in real-world driving on public roads, I saw this record attempt as an opportunity to try something different. The ‘7’ is one of the UK’s best-sellers, so I was keen to discover what all the fuss was about.

The challenge was to travel as efficiently as possible between the bases of the Three Peaks Challenge, starting at Ben Nevis in Scotland, continuing to Scafell Pike and finishing at Snowdon, where we would refuel and calculate the result. The driving was only one part of it, as someone also had to climb every peak! That was where TV presenter Ben Shephard and his guide, Cai, came in. Sam Clarke, who has supported me on several record attempts, shared the driving with me.

One thing most people never see is just how closely a Guinness World Records attempt is checked. Every metre of the journey had to be accounted for, so we used the Webfleet HD tracking system to produce a detailed KML (Keyhole Markup Language) file to store and display geographical data for the verification team. Cameras also recorded the entire drive, and Guinness received random three-minute sections of footage from every hour. This was all designed to prove that nothing had influenced the result, including slipstreaming or being towed between locations.

Fuelled and Charged

Before we could get started, the RAC had to fulfil its role as our independent professional witness. The Jaecoo was fully fuelled and charged, then both flaps were sealed, signed and photographed by the team and the RAC. From that moment, there was no opportunity to add fuel or electricity. As such, the result would depend entirely on the car, the conditions and how well we drove.

Then we got started, but not with the driving, as Ben and Cai had to climb the first mountain! Just like the car, Ben was tracked to verify that he had reached the summit. Until they returned, there was nothing Sam and I could do except wait and try to rest. It was an unusual start to a record attempt, as our part of the challenge had not yet begun! In some ways, it felt very different from our previous records and was more relaxed, but we knew our time would come soon enough.

Time for us to get to work

As daylight broke, it was time for us to get to work. Unfortunately, the weather had deteriorated while we rested. Surface water is one of the worst conditions for efficient driving because the tyres use extra energy to displace it. That is good for maintaining grip and preventing accidents, but bad for fuel efficiency. Could the weather scupper the challenge before we had even started?

We pressed on, reading the road ahead, driving as smoothly as possible and allowing the Jaecoo 7’s Super Hybrid System to select the most efficient power source. It shut the engine down at every opportunity to save fuel, and most of the time the engine was virtually inaudible. Unless the energy display was visible on the screen, it was difficult to tell when the engine was running. Fortunately, the weather improved as the journey continued. These were still challenging, hilly roads with real traffic, a far cry from my last record attempt in the controlled conditions of Millbrook.

Record was not ours just yet…

After 469.5 miles, we reached the final peak at Snowdon, but the record was not ours just yet. The Guinness World Records adjudicator met us there, escorted us to the fuel station and supervised the refuelling at a pump certified in accordance with the Weights and Measures Act 1985. Only once that process was complete could the calculations begin and we could discover whether the attempt had succeeded.

The result was an average of 68.7mpg, which was impressive given the terrain and weather conditions. More remarkably, it was better than the figure we achieved at Millbrook, showing that it is possible to outperform a controlled-track result in the real world. With its fuel tank holding 13.20 UK gallons, the Jaecoo 7 could cover about 906 miles at that level of efficiency. In other words, the UK is not long enough to stop it, and the result comfortably exceeds the car’s official range of 745 miles.

More than reaching 68.7mpg

Challenges like this are never the work of one individual. They rely on a considerable logistics team: Sadek from Omoda/Jaecoo, who pulled everything together; the RAC professional witnesses; the camera and videography crews; and the teams at Guinness. Everyone played their part.

For me, this record was about more than reaching 68.7mpg or taking my Guinness World Records total to seven. It showed what the technology can do when combined with smooth, careful driving. The useful part is that you do not need to be attempting a record to use the same techniques. Reading the road ahead and driving smoothly can help anyone travel further and spend less on fuel, which matters when petrol and diesel prices are approaching £2 per litre.