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Volvo S60 Drive attempts 856-mile road trip on one tank of diesel in video diary

The CNET UK Car Tech crew love a challenge, so when Volvo charged us with driving a new S60 Drive from its HQ in Marlow, England to Mayrhofen in Austria, we leapt at the chance.

Rory Reid
2 min read

The CNET UK Car Tech crew dearly love a challenge, so when Volvo charged us with driving from a new S60 Drive from its HQ in Marlow, England to Mayrhofen in Austria, we leapt at the chance.

Unfortunately for us, we had two major obstacles in our way. Firstly, the total length of the journey, which involves driving across much of England, France, Germany and Austria, is a whopping 856 miles. Secondly, we only had one tank of fuel -- and the maximum theoretical range of the S60 Drive is just 850 miles. We were attempting the near-impossible.

Nevertheless, your intrepid Car Tech crew grabbed the gauntlet with both hands. We filled the S60 Drive to the brim with £100 of Marlow's finest diesel and hit the road, confident we could exploit the car's low-rolling resistance tyres, lowered suspension, improved aerodynamics and eco-tuned engine software to achieve our goal.

But have Car Tech host Rory Reid and hirsute video producer Drew Stearne bitten off more than they can chew? Will tensions fray as they travel across Europe in a metal box? Will they run out of diesel and have to resort to the emergency pot of fuel dubbed 'The Fail Can'? And who would win in a fight -- Superman or Spider-Man?

We'll be revealing the final outcome of the journey shortly, but until then, we figured we'd show you some of the high (and low) points of the trip. Have a butchers' at the YouTube videos over the next few pages to get up to speed on how this epic adventure unfolded -- and check back soon for the final production.

Part 1: The team set off at 6am.

Part 2: The challenge begins in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Part 3: Heading in the wrong direction.

Part 4: The S60 Drive doesn't float, so we take the Chunnel.

Part 5: Drew sleeps while Rory wastes fuel by speeding.

Part 6: The sat-nav has gone mental.

Part 7: Rory loses Drew. Deliberately.

Part 8: Day 2 and the team are ahead of schedule.

Part 9: Das is goot, ve aaargh in Germany, ja?

Part 10: Tensions rise as we argue whether Spider-Man could defeat Superman in a fight.

Part 11: Hooning at top speed along the Autobahn.

Part 12: The team can see the mountains of Austria, but are low on fuel.

Part 13: 37 miles left to travel, but only 25 miles of diesel in the tank.

Part 14: 26 miles away, but our fuel is reading as empty.

Part 15: The team regret maxing the S60 Drive on the Autobahn.

Part 16: The team arrives safely, but did they make it on one tank? The answer will be revealed at a later date.