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

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.