SEE THE SAVING: Peugeot's Terrific Tech Twist

SYDNEY – Oct 7, 2011: There’s a great twist in Peugeot’s stop/start fuel saving technology; you get to see exactly what it’s saving you. The dash display includes a timer that keeps track of how long the engine is stopped on each journey. The results can be truly surprising. It makes you want to achieve better and better results each drive.

For example, on her 70-minute peak-hour commute between the office at Homebush and her home on Sydney’s northern beaches, Peugeot’s own Kirin Tipping regularly records about 15 minutes with the engine stopped.

“That’s more than 20 per cent of journey time, a full quarter hour that the car is stationery and doing nothing,” she said. “In a regular car the engine would be idling uselessly, using fuel and creating emissions for no result. With this technology it’s stopped and emission-free.

“Frankly, I was astounded by the quarter-hour total. I guess like most commuters I don’t think of just how long I spend stopped in traffic. The Peugeot’s display brings it home. It’s a fantastic idea.”

Peugeot’s stop/start technology, known as e-HDi, will be available (on sale) 21st October 2011 with 508 and 308 Series II models powered by the 1.6-litre diesel engine, and will become available across more models as updating occurs. It is available with Peugeot’s robotised manual (clutchless) gearbox.

Depending on a number of factors programmed into the computer, as the car rolls to stop in traffic or at lights the engine switches off. All other functions, including the air conditioning, keep operating as normal. With the release of the brake the engine automatically re-starts in just 400 milliseconds and the timer suspends counting until the next stop.

“It’s not just a money saver, owners will be driving up to 15 per cent cleaner and reducing CO2 emissions by around five grams per kilometre,” Peugeot’s general manager, Ken Thomas said. “They’re aware of their contribution to greener motoring every time they see the display.”

“And if they get sick of it they can always turn it off. But who gets sick of saving fuel and doing the right thing by the planet?”

Pricing to be announced closer to the sale date.