Vauxhall: Budding Green Drivers Enter Second Phase Of Ecoflex Shoot-Out

LUTON, UNITED KINGDOM – May 19, 2010: Vauxhall has received an excellent response to its ecoFLEX Experience challenge to find the UK’s greenest driver, since the competition went live last month.

And that means that the entrants to Phase One of the competition, which tested their general knowledge of eco-driving, will now be a stage closer to winning the groundbreaking E-REV Ampera – and of course the accolade of being crowned Europe’s greenest driver.

Phase Two entrants now have until June 11 to put theory into practice through a virtual driving course on an Internet Simulator. Then, under the motto “Green Drivers Wanted”, entrants will test their knowledge and skills through further phases until just one successful UK driver will win the opportunity to go through to the competition final.

Here, the virtual becomes reality, when the single UK finalist will pit his or her eco-mettle against rivals from 18 other European countries at a multi-day event in Sweden at the end of July. Under the supervision of professionals, the finalists will go head to head at the Sturup Raceway in Malmo. The greenest driver will then be named the ecoFLEX Experience champion and look forward to taking delivery of one of the very first Vauxhall/Opel Amperas, Europe’s first production Extended-Range Electric Vehicle

But there’s still time to be in with a chance of winning the Ampera. Simply register at ecoflex-experience.com – and maybe you’ll be flying to Sweden this July as the UK’s eco-driving challenger!

ecoFLEX range paves way for groundbreaking Vauxhall Ampera
Vauxhall now offers over 50 different ecoFLEX models, one of the largest green ranges in the UK. And it’s one of the most popular, too, with Vauxhall recording just under 7,000 sales in this year alone (to the end of May) for its greenest models.

Two ecoFLEX models which have recently launched are set to become the biggest sellers in the range. The new Corsa ecoFLEX 1.3 CDTi ecoFLEX (95PS) and the new Astra 1.3 CDTi ecoFLEX (95PS) models both offer CO2 emissions of less than 110g/km, allowing customers to take advantage of the government’s zero VED this year. In fact, the 3-door Corsa ecoFLEX’s CO2emissions have dropped to just 98g/km, matching the best in class, while achieving a combined 76.3mpg.

With a combination of ultra-low rolling resistance tyres, modified gearing, revised fuel mapping and aerodynamic changes, all Vauxhall ecoFLEX models have been optimised for improved fuel consumption and lower emissions, benefiting both fleet and private buyers with reduced running costs and tax breaks for company drivers.

Vauxhall now features ecoFLEX models in all but two of its ranges, and is set to raise the bar still further when it introduces Start-Stop technology across the ecoFLEX-badged cars, starting with the Corsa in September.

But in less than two years’ time, Vauxhall’s high-tech Ampera will hit UK showrooms. A pre-production Ampera recently completed its first long-distance drive on public roads with a trip from Vauxhall/Opel’s engineering base in Rüsselsheim to Geneva. A 16 kWh lithium-ion battery allows the Ampera to travel over 40 miles electrically, and completely emission-free. After that, a petrol-fuelled generator produces the electricity that drives the wheels for the remainder of the journey.

Like its current ecoFLEX models, Vauxhall’s Ampera proves that green technology hasn’t sapped the fun out of driving. The exceptionally quiet 150PS electric motor delivers 370Nm of torque from standstill, allowing it to accelerate from 0-62mph in around nine seconds, on to a top speed of 100mph.