Tested by the team behind the recent MPG Marathon under the same rules and conditions as the event, the CR-V achieved an incredible 77.86mpg, 24% more than its official quoted figure of 62.8mpg.

As in the MPG Marathon the car was driven by two independent drivers, John Kerswill and Ian McKean. Carried out over two days, the test covered 509.5 miles on a variety of roads and conditions and at speeds that represent real-world driving.

John Kerswill commented: ‘A lot of people doubt that the official consumption figures of new cars are achievable in real life, and with some cars that might be true. But we've shown conclusively that it's possible to not only match but far exceed the CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC's official 62.8mpg, which is itself a pretty amazing figure for such a large vehicle.’

Lee Wheeler, manager corporate operations at Honda (UK), commented: ‘Once again our Earth Dreams technology proves its real-world credentials over distances and in conditions that many fleet drivers face every day. This perfectly illustrates the fact that drivers can have the versatility, practicality and refinement of a larger car but still keep their fuel bills down.’

The success of the CR-V follows the strong performance put in by the Civic 1.6 i-DTEC at this year’s MPG Marathon where it scooped third place out of 23. Over a 367-mile drive the Civic recorded an excellent overall mpg of 84.87mpg, just 4mpg behind the winner. It was pipped to the post for overall MPG by two much smaller cars.

Ross Durkin, managing editor of Fleet World Group and organiser of the MPG Marathon, added: ‘We’ve already seen one amazing economy driving performance from a Honda diesel this year. Add to that John and Ian’s undoubted credentials from previous MPG Marathons and you have the potential for some really impressive results. Their performance shows that not only is this an intrinsically economical car to run, but also that with a degree of skill it can far outstrip the published fuel consumption figures. This run would have put them in second place in the MPG Marathon proper, just a whisker behind the winner.’