Jun 06 Who is our greenest driver?

David Eagle and the prius C
Photo: MARTIN DE RUYTER/FAIRFAX NZ: David Eagle of the Bowater Motor Group drives a 2012 Toyota Prius Hybrid car that is being used in the Prius Challenge in Nelson and Motueka.
Article from The Nelson Mail 06/06/12.

Here's a tip for fuel efficiency: don't chat so much while driving that you miss your turn.

That's the mistake Nelson Mail chief photographer Martin de Ruyter made while taking the Prius Challenge in Nelson.

This week the challenge course is in Motueka and next month it will be back in Nelson for a corporate challenge for companies to vie to be the greenest business.

Nelson eco-builder Nick Marer, from the Little Pig Building Company, won the Nelson challenge, topping 50 other drivers with his eco-score of 2.5 litres per 100km fuel economy over the 7.5km course which takes in the hill up and over Russell St, the highway along Queen Elizabeth Drive and back through town.

Jun 01 We have a winner in the Nelson Prius Challenge

Prius Challenge winner nick marer The first Prius Challenge has come to a close here at Bowater Toyota in Nelson with a stunning last day drive from local eco warrior and eco home builder Nick Marer from The Little Pig Building Co.

When Nick took the challenge he also showed us a thing or two gleaned from his years of Prius driving experience. He has owned a Prius for the last 4 years and has obviously broken free of his habits and adjusted his way of driving. He made some very smart choices, took slightly different strategies in some parts of the course, but most importantly paid attention to what was going on around him and planned well ahead so that he could gradually accelerate or decelerate at his own pace.
The result was a stunning overall score of 2.5L/100km fuel economy, a saving of 93cents for the trip over the consumption of New Zealand's favourite car, the Toyota Corolla and electric vehicle use of 67% - a well deserved win!

The video of this drive is available here, and is well worth a watch to see just how it is done. He is calm, collected and cool and in the end, the happy recipient of the all new 2012 Prius C for a week to go where ever he desires.

May 31 Nick Marer shows us 2.5L/100km fuel efficiency in the Prius C

On the very last day of the Prius Challenge Nick Marer from The Little Pig Building Co came back to Bowater Toyota claiming he could do better on his previous attempt. His previous attempt was already very good, at 3.6L/100km, but not the best we had seen, and after his challenge he was sitting 7th on the leader board.

Nick Marer - Little Pig Building Co

Being a Prius owner for the last 4 years, Nick had a few tricks up his sleeve, so he called salesman Chae Baird-Booth and booked another challenge knowing that he could do better. We are all for the competitive spirit, and if someone thinks that they can do better we will support them however we can, so we went along for the drive not expecting to film what unfolded!

May 29 The Prius Challenge is coming to Motueka

We have got some very exciting things planned for the month of June over at Bowater Toyota in Motueka. Our new salesman, recent Dutch import Michiel Overweel, is keen to jump right into the thick of it and start with the Prius Challenge for Motueka.

prius challenge mot

The premise is much the same as the Prius Challenge we have held in Nelson - we set up a course and everyone can have a crack at it. The Motueka Prius Challenge will run for all of June, with the winner announced Monday July 2nd at 9am on our Facebook page.