THE tiny smart city car has notched up another victory in Britain's toughest fuel economy challenge, narrowly missing out on breaking the 100 miles per gallon barrier.

A diesel powered smart for-two Coupe Passion driven by Mick Linford and Ella Flynn clocked up an average of 99.2mpg over a 370 mile route.

It is the third year running that a smart car has won the challenge.

Second place went to a Suzuki Swift 1.3 DDiS which averaged 86.4mpg while a Skoda Octavia Greenline family saloon managed 85.9mpg.

This year's ALD Automotive/Shell FuelSave MPG Marathon was run over two days and attracted 27 cars and 11 vans that competed over two extensive routes taking in all types of roads and driving conditions.

The car which managed to register the greatest improvement over the manufacturer's published fuel consumption figure was a Vauxhall VXR8 driven by Andrew Duerden and Chris Mooney who managed 32.1mpg - 53 per cent better than the car's official combined cycle figure of 21.0mpg.

Event organiser Ross Durkin said: "The people who took part are some of the best economy drivers in the world.

"But the overall aim of the event is to raise awareness among normal motorists that a few simple techniques - such as better anticipation of the road ahead, smooth acceleration and correct use of gears - can bring about significant savings at the fuel pumps."

The best MPG for a van was achieved by a Fiat Fiorino with 82.9mpg followed by a Citroen Nemo which managed 81.7.

There were also some impressive class wins for Ford's Transit, claiming first place in both 2800kg and 3500kg classes with averages of 55.5 and 51.8mpg.