17 September 2002: An amazing 112.71mpg was achieved in a special charity economy run in Honda Jazz cars yesterday by a duo of Irish motoring journalists - Brian and Mary Foley. The IrishCar.Com team of Brian Byrne and Trish Whelan achieved 72.2mpg, coming in third behind Karl Tsigdinos and Honda Ireland's Chris Dobson with their 104.91. The official combined consumption of the Jazz is 49.6mpg.

The Jazz Economy Challenge was held to highlight the economy possibilities of the high-technology 1.4-litre engine that powers the Jazz, which has become the biggest-selling car in its native Japan under the name Fit.

The event was held in Co Kildare and involved 10 pairs of drivers travelling a 54.2-mile course taking in a mixture of motorway, main and secondary roads in the southern half of the county. The run was time-limited so that the driving should be under 'ordinary' conditions.

The 'Jazz Challenge' also raised E5,000 for the 'Share a Dream' charity, set up by Shay Kinsella to help very ill children achieve a special dream. The event was supervised Robert Taylor (below, right), managing director of RAC Ireland.



Thanks in large measure to the introduction of a range of new cars - the Jazz, the Stream MPV, and the 3-door Civic as well as the latest CR-V SUV - Honda's sales in Ireland to the end of August have grown by 3.2 per cent, against a background drop of over 6.2 per cent in the overall car market here.

At yesterday's event, Honda Ireland's Frank Kennedy also announced the launch of the company's new Irish website www.honda.ie