Update one: The last time I drove a HSV Maloo it was from Darwin to Adelaide during the Global Green Challenge economy run last October. Rivals and spectators smirked at us on the start line in sweaty Darwin, probably wondering why two blokes even bothered turning up in a V8 ute.
But we ended up getting the last laugh. Sure, we used more fuel than any other car in the field, but we'd made the biggest reduction in consumption compared to our fuel rating label -- a massive 48 per cent. This was the measure by which all competitors were judged.
The teams that turned up with tiny diesels and used bugger-all fuel weren't happy. They ran on fumes, but only made 12 to 15 per cent reductions in consumption compared to their window sticker figures. Oops.
However, as more than one person has pointed out, to achieve these sorts of fuel economy numbers (the Maloo averaged 7.74L/100km, a little more than half what its rating label says at 15.1L/100km) you have to drive very abnormally.
Along with every other competitor in the field, we drove with the air-conditioning off (about a 1L/100km saving according to my engineer co-driver) and windows up and treated the accelerator pedal as if it were a letter spike. We crawled up hills barely using any throttle and then coasted down the other side. Australia might look flat in the middle on a map, but let me tell you there are a lot of bumps between Darwin and Adelaide.
The Challenge was genuinely painful, for many reasons -- not least of which was having a 6.2-litre V8 under the bonnet and never revving it above about 2000rpm. Temperatures inside the cabin were close to 50 degrees Celcius at times.
So you might imagine how much I was looking forward to driving a Maloo normally, and with the air-conditioning on.
I picked up 'our' new Maloo from HSV HQ at Clayton on the south-eastern outskirts of Melbourne. It was someone else's company car before me, so it had been nicely run-in and had 7000km-plus on the clock already. But it still felt new to me -- and didn't smell nearly as bad as the sweaty green Maloo we'd used in the economy challenge.
In-keeping with the economy theme, I thought it would be a good idea to do an economy run of my own, from Melbourne to Sydney -- this time driving normally. So I topped up the tank (mine, and the Maloo's) in the late afternoon on the northern outskirts of Melbourne and pointed the silver bullet north on the Hume.
I did nothing more exciting than set the cruise control to the various speed limits that dot the Hume and concentrated on the road, barely looking at the gauges.
I probably should have paid more attention.
Some time after midnight the fuel gauge began to warn me that my fuel was low. That went away after about half an hour and it began flashing "Very Low".
From my experience in the economy challenge, I thought there was a fair amount of fuel -- at least a few litres, maybe more -- in the filler neck and the fuel lines between the tank and the engine. To be on the safe side, I thought I better push a few buttons to bring up the fuel used in litres screen on the trip computer.
The digital readout told me I had used 74.8 litres since refueling. In Melbourne.
Now, without a word of a lie, as my brain was thinking "Gee, that's odd, I'm pretty sure the Maloo only has a 73 litre tank" the engine coughed and cut out.
That's how I ended up on the side of the freeway off-ramp on the Hume Highway near Mittagong at 1:00AM. Ivan Milat territory -- the place where Australia's worst serial killer came to butcher and bury his bodies...
The good news: I had made it 720km on one tank. The only problem was that the burble of my V8 (with optional bi-model exhausts) was now replaced by the whoosh of trucks. Luckily I managed to roll the silver bullet into a relatively safe, well lit place.
I was about to set off on what would have been a one-hour walk to the 24-hour service station in town when my tired brain finally had a good idea. Call a cab. Do they even have cabs in Mittagong? Thankfully they do, and there's not much happening on a Monday night. The pubs are all closed.
And so, after about one hour, 50 bucks in taxi fares, a splash of fuel and a jerry can later, I trickled four precious litres into the Maloo (and one onto my shoes).
When the engine originally conked out I deliberately didn't try to fire her up because I didn't want to run the fuel lines dry. It was a wise move, because the silver bullet fired into life first go once it had fuel in its belly.
There was some other good news. Driving normally, that is sticking to the speed limit, running the air-conditioning, and not being afraid to use the accelerator when overtaking, I had gotten an amazing 10.3L/100km out of the Maloo.
Admittedly, it was all highway driving and I know from experience that this figure will evaporate as soon as I start to, er, explore the engine's potential, but it's still impressive.
Now safely in the Harbour City the Maloo and I are settling in well. The engine's clocked up more than 8500km now and we're well on the way to V8 heaven.
As with many V8s, the engine feels a fraction tight in the lower revs. Don't get me wrong, it's still rapid. But I've owned three SS utes and one HSV ute before, so I know that the engine gets happier after about 10,000km. Fingers crossed.
HSV E2 Maloo R8
Update one:
- Distance travelled: 720km.
- Fuel consumption this leg: 10.3L/100km.
- Highlights: Collected the car from HSV HQ and drove it to Sydney to see how far I could get on one tank of fuel. Took the idea too far and conked out at 1:00am near Mittagong. Car has fuel in it now, and I have learned to pay more attention to the gauges. That "very low fuel" warning is no joke, you know.
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