Drive to be Green
If you are thinking about buying another car, it's well worth taking the time to research the most efficient car for its class, as fuel consumption of similar sized cars can vary by as much as 45 percent. With rising fuel prices, you'll want to get the best economy you can, so we have compiled some useful information on the different types of fuel available and the most efficient cars to consider. More fuel efficient vehicles, or those with a lower engine size fall into a lower rate class of tax.
The Vehicle Certification Agency has details of the fuel consumption, tax classes, exhaust pollution levels and noise for most new petrol, diesel and LPG cars. Visit their website at www.vca.gov.uk/fcb.htm. Tel: 0117 9524106 to request a booklet.
We have information about the following types of fuel:
Petrol vs diesel
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Hybrid vehicles
Electric vehicles
What's best - Petrol vs Diesel?
There's no easy answer as both types produce harmful exhaust gases. If you tend to make mainly urban journeys, you should choose a small, petrol powered car. Smaller cars use less fuel, cause less congestion and are easier to park whereas diesel cars produce more particles that can aggravate certain medical conditions such as asthma.
Example : Smart cars. These are small cars that are cheap to buy (RRP £6800) and extremely fuel efficient. The two seater 700cc model achieves up to 70mpg and if you pay an extra £2000 for an LPG conversion, its emissions rating is even better.
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)
Dual fuelled cars, which have tanks for both LPG and petrol, are now becoming widely produced by a range of manufacturers and are available through many local dealers. Not every petrol station sells LPG fuel, but the car automatically reverts back to petrol if you run out of LPG. When running on LPG less pollutants are generally produced than petrol only cars so it is a much cleaner fuel to use. There is also a large financial benefit as LPG fuel costs around half the price of lead free petrol. Even cleaner than LPG is CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) - it is popular across Europe but only a handful of filling stations in the UK sell it.
Hybrid Vehicles
Cars that have both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine are known as "hybrid cars". There are now several hybrids available to the consumer including the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic. The car doesn't need to be plugged in as the technology of the car means that it automatically switches between the electric and the petrol, and recharges itself through braking. Both makes of hybrids have impressive fuel economy and low exhaust emissions. They are low in tax and exempt from the congestion charge.
Example : Toyota Prius. Endorsed by celebrities and politicians, the Prius can achieve around 65mpg. It costs approx £17500.
Electric Vehicles
These vehicles are efficient, produce low noise and zero emissions in use (although the creation of the electricity in the first place will have had some environmental impact). They can cost as little as 1p per mile to run and you can charge them up from any 13amp socket in up to seven hours. The majority of electric vehicles sold in the UK are made by Peugeot or Citroen and these run for up to 50 miles before they need recharging. Their top speeds are 56mph. They are excellent for those who solely use their cars for shorter, urban trips.
Example: G-Wiz. A two seater car that can do 40 miles on a single charge and has a top speed of 40mph. The makers say that the cost per mile is equivalent to 600mpg. See www.goinggreen.co.uk for more.
