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It’s not every day you get to watch a Guinness World Record unfold right in front of you. But that’s exactly what happened last Friday in Melbourne, where Geely officially received recognition for setting a brand-new world title: the lowest fuel consumption on the Sydney-Melbourne coastal route by a plug-in hybrid SUV.
The new global hybrid model, the Geely Starray EM-i plug-in hybrid (PHEV) mid-size SUV, completed the 1056km journey using just 3.83L/100km, as verified by official Guinness adjudicators.
It’s a number that stops people mid-conversation, mostly because it challenges what we think hybrids can actually do in the real world.
So this wasn’t just another press event. It was equal parts celebration and genuine admiration for a car that quietly rewrites expectations.
A drive worthy of a world record
The Sydney-Melbourne ‘Coastal Drive’ is one of Australia’s most spectacular long-distance journeys. It’s a mix of winding national parks, ocean views, country towns, steep climbs, fast stretches and, inevitably, the traffic shuffle as you near the cities of Melbourne or Sydney.
It is also, without a doubt, a proper test of a car’s endurance and efficiency.
Personally, it’s one of my favourite routes in Australia. As someone who spends a lot of time travelling long distances for work and exploring regional roads, I know how varied and demanding this drive can be.
You get corners that demand precision, long straights where efficiency and safety matters, and hills that punish anything underpowered.
So for Geely to choose this specific route for a record attempt says everything about its confidence in the new Starray EM-i. This wasn’t a quiet, controlled loop. It wasn’t a perfectly flat test track. This was Australia’s coastline in early summer with heat, wind, congestion, hills, and everything in between.
The car behind the record
The Starray EM-i is Geely’s first global plug-in hybrid SUV. It runs a 29.8kWh battery paired with a 1.5-litre petrol engine, and a hybrid system designed to move between electric and petrol power without the driver feeling it happen.
What the record proves is not just that the system is efficient, but that it stays efficient in the real world. Long hills, high-speed overtakes, and stop-start traffic are the moments where most hybrids start to slip.
Inside, it’s comfortable and well-equipped. The cabin has that modern hybrid SUV feel: big screen, clean lines, supportive seating and a quietness you only get when running on electric power.
Plenty of boot space, enough charging ports for family road trips, and smooth transitions between modes make it practical for everyday driving, not just headline moments like this one.
If you were thinking about doing the Sydney-Melbourne drive, or any long road trip, this is the kind of cabin that keeps you and your passengers happy for hours.
The world record moment
The moment before the announcement was surprisingly emotional. I grew up with the Guinness World Record books, anxiously waiting with friends in the school library as primary school kids for the new year edition to come out.
And even as an adult I still got that excitement, with media, engineers, brand partners and tech lovers all gathered around the SUV as the Guinness World Records certificate was brought out.
There’s something special about seeing a world record acknowledged in person. People told me after the announcement: “I didn’t think it could actually do it” and “This is wild for a hybrid”. And honestly, that sentiment carried through the room.
Plenty of brands claim their vehicles can do long-distance efficiency runs on one tank or one charge. Very few take that claim and test it in front of the world, with independent adjudication, along a route that thousands of Australians drive every year.
Geely didn’t just claim that, it proved it.
The journey that put it to the test
To make this official with Guinness, two independent witnesses travelled with the car for the entire 24-hour journey, as required by the rules. Every stop, every change in weather, every reading was documented and verified.
While the full technical explanation of how the hybrid system behaved in each part of the drive exists, here’s what matters:
The Royal National Park to Wollongong: Long climbs and open roads where the engine and electric motor worked together for maximum efficiency.
Through Gippsland’s rolling hills: Plenty of opportunities for the car to regenerate energy on descents, storing power for later sections.
Approaching Melbourne: Thick traffic where the Starray EM-i slipped into pure electric mode at low speeds, saving fuel when it mattered most.
These are driving conditions every Australian recognises. And that’s exactly why this record feels more relatable than most efficiency claims – it played out on the same roads the rest of us take on holidays.
What Geely says it means
At the event, the director of the Energy Control Department at Geely Automobile Research Institute, Dong Wan, spoke about why this achievement matters and his message was clear.
This hybrid system works because its hardware and software are designed to co-operate in an efficient way, adjusting power delivery moment by moment to let the engine always work in the most efficient operating range.
It’s not one trick; it’s a series of small, smart decisions the car makes constantly, when to use electric power, when to harvest energy, when to let the petrol engine take over, and when to run both.
The result was a world record on a route that’s as everyday as it is iconic.
More than a certificate
Globally, the Starray EM-i has already notched up more than 114,000 sales as of November 2025. It’s been well received in markets across Europe, Asia and South Africa, and now Australia, positioning Geely as a fast-growing contender in the hybrid space.
But the world record does more than add credibility, it sends a message that hybrid technology is still evolving, still competitive, and still capable of surprising people.
For drivers, it means lower running costs and more confidence on long drives.
For Geely, it marks a milestone in its international rollout.
And for the broader industry, it’s a reminder that efficiency isn’t just marketing, it’s measurable.
We didn’t just watch a record being set last week. We watched a hybrid SUV prove that innovation isn’t slowing down, and neither is the future of efficient long-distance travel.