The British edition of Next Green Car amounted to Top 10 most environmentally friendly cars in 2012. Most of the cars in this dozen have decent features and a price that allows you to compete with traditional cars equipped with an internal combustion engine.
The struggle to reduce harmful CO2 emissions into the atmosphere has been ongoing for a long time, and great efforts are being made in this area in the automotive industry.
Over the past couple of years, there has been a real breakthrough in the production of hybrid cars and electric vehicles. And while many of them have not yet gone into mass production, the declared CO2 level is impressive.
10. BMW 5 Series ActiveHybrid (CO2 - 149 g / km)
This "sports hybrid" allows you to enjoy aggressive driving, but at the same time harmful emissions will be 16% less than that of the BMW 535i gasoline counterpart. The main engine is a six-cylinder TwinPower Turbo with double supercharging, which is helped by an electric motor. The minimum cost of ActiveHybrid 5 is 57 thousand Euros, which is not much higher than a gasoline car.
9. Citroen DS5 HYbrid4 (CO2 level - 99 g / km)
The hybrid car runs on a diesel two-liter HDi with a FAP filter and an electric motor with a power of 27 kW. Auto developers have tried to give the cabin a rather futuristic look. The price of the DS5 HYbrid4 for Europe is clearly a bit high - 43,750 Euros.
8. Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 (CO2 level - 99 g / km)
The diesel-electric car runs on the same pair of engines as the Citroen hybrid. The declared fuel consumption is 3.8 liters per 100 km. The price ranges around 30 thousand Euros.
7. Volkswagen Up! 1.0 BlueMotion (CO2 - 97 g / km).
A new car from Volkswagen costs only 11.5 thousand Euros. Fuel consumption is 3.2 liters per 100 km. Fuel economy compared to gasoline models is about 10%.
6. Kia Rio 1.1 CRDi EcoDynamics (CO2 - 85 g / km)
Korean hatchback consumes 2.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers - one of the best indicators. Under the hood, this eco-friendly car has a 1.1-liter engine. Sales of the compact began in 2012 at a price of 12.5 thousand Euros.
5. Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (CO2 - 49 g / km)
The machine runs on the Hybrid Synergy Drive system already proven in serial production. Under the hood, the car has a 1.8-liter DOHC VVT-i gasoline engine with 16 valves and two electric motors - 60 and 42 kW. The lithium-ion battery lasts 22 km without exhaust. The price of a car is about 34 thousand Euros.
4. Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid (CO2 - 49 g / km)
An environmentally friendly and powerful car runs on an impressive base: a 215-horsepower turbodiesel paired with an electric motor of 50 kW. Without exhaust, the car can travel 50 kilometers. Volvo accelerates to “hundreds” in 7 seconds and costs about 57 thousand Euros. The start of sales of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid is scheduled for the fall of 2012.
3. Vauxhall Ampera (CO2 - 27 g / km)
The car, in fact, is a copy of the Opel Ampera and Chevy Volt. The power plant is 110 kW. In autonomous mode, the car can travel about 60 km, and paired with an internal combustion engine generator - all 500. The cost of a car is about 35 thousand Euros.
2. Renault Fluence ZE (CO2 - 0 g / km)
Cars with an electric motor are the absolute leaders in the rating of eco-friendly cars. In 2012, Renault launches as many as 4 electric vehicles, and the Fluence ZE is one of them. Electric motor power - 70 kW. The battery allows you to drive 160 km without recharging at a speed of maximum 135 km / h. It will take 6-8 hours to fully charge the car, but 80% of the charge will be restored in the first 40 minutes. Sales in Europe began in the summer of 2012.
1. Smart Fortwo ED (CO2 - 0 g / km)
The most environmentally friendly car equipped with a 50 kW motor. The maximum speed of the microcar is 130 km / h. The charge is enough for 136 kilometers. The standard recharge time from the home network is 6-8 hours. The price of the basic configuration is about 20 thousand Euros. Batteries can be rented for around 70 Euro per month. Sales of Fortwo ED started in the summer of 2012 in two versions - a convertible and a coupe.