In the current economic climate and with all the talk of global warming, customers are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and their spending, and so are looking for more efficient cars for reasons that are both economical and ecological.
Now, this isn’t just a focus on cheap initial savings, but more of a long term consideration of the ongoing running costs of the vehicle. Cars with fuel consumption of over 70mpg used to be the stuff of dreams, although not very exciting ones, but now we see them all around us everyday, on a whole range of vehicles from a number of manufacturers.
Oh, and we must not forget that lower fuel consumption usually relates to lower CO2 emissions. This, in return, means that road tax costs and company car tax will be reduced. Road tax on a car that produces less than 100 g/km is completely free, so you can be safe in the knowledge that your carbon footprint has been reduced AND you’re spending less and less. I’m going to count that as a win? Yes?
Trying to whittle down the shear amount of great eco-friendly cars to just 5 wasn’t an easy task, not in the slightest, but below is the list I managed to come up with. So here we go…
Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion
The Golf BlueMotion comes equipped with a superbly refined and upmarket interior, with plenty of space both in the front and the rear. This model shares many features as the old model but that’s no bad thing. The old model was brilliant so surely this model should be as good, if not better? Makes sense to me.
The excellent noise insulation makes the Golf feel even more solid and well built than before and ensure that it leads the way in sophistication among small hatchbacks.
The BlueMotion edition is available on most styles of golf, the first edition is a 1.6 TDI which emits just 99 g/km of CO2 and averages around 74 mpg. Thus making it tax free, on top of the saving you’re already making with better fuel economy. Starting off at £17,780, the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion is not to be overlooked when looking for a new car.
Toyota Prius T3
The Toyota Prius is one of the more established members of the green segment of the market, and is capable of racking up 716 miles on just one tank of juice, not bad eh?
The mid-size hatchback has a wide variety of technology that allows it to deliver such impressive statistics, including three possible driving modes, totally dependant on your mood.
The Prius has plenty of passenger room and comes very well equipped as standard. The engine in the 1.8 VVTi T3 Hybrid CVT auto is very responsive and can produce up to 72 mpg as well as only emitting 89 g/km CO2, making it completely free on the road tax front.
A real contender in the green car market and comes at a price of £19,855 for the standard model.
Ford Fiesta Econetic
It would be hard to put together any sort of top five without including this supermini heavyweight, especially with the addition of the low consumption, low emissions Fiesta Econetic.
The 1.6 litre TDI offers a powerful drive as well as being cleverly economical and extremely reliable. The Fiesta has been around for 30 years and it’s not hard to see how, especially when you add fuel economy to the growing list of strengths.
The Fiesta is a small car but with big ideas. As well as being good to drive and stylish, it has borrowed many innovations from larger cars in the Ford range, such as keyless entry, Bluetooth hands-free compatibility and a system to prevent mis-fueling. It also comes with a knee airbag as standard, as well as being able to play MP3s from a USB stick through the stereo. It is cheaper to buy and costs less than the older model, and with the Econetic engine, will cost you nothing to tax. Starting price for the Econetic Fiesta is £13,495.
Citroen DS3
The DS3 signals a return to a more exclusive range for Citroen, signified by the DS tag. The majority of DS3s will not fall below the 100 g/km benchmark, but the 1.6 HDI 90bhp engine variant manages to just sneak under at 99g/km.
The DS3 is the first in a range of very different Citroen models that put the emphasis on style and personality, alongside strong performance and driver appeal.
It is a great car to drive with tremendous composure in corners and responsive steering, while the ride remains forgiving. As well as this, it is also very well built – something that can’t be said for all Citroens – with a genuine luxury feel to the interior and impressive refinement at higher speeds. Overall, this is the best car Citroen has made for a long time, in my humble opinion.
Often compared to the Mini, the DS3 is both a good looking car with hot hatch desires, and economical. As you may expect, it isn’t as cheap as some of the other contenders, but certainly not the most expensive either. The starting price for this vehicle is £13,700.
Smart ForTwo CDi
Thanks to its characteristic shape and tiny size, the Smart Fortwo is instantly recognisable. This is the second generation of the ForTwo but the styling is subtly being changed and this model comes with more angular headlights than the last – the most notable change.
Just like its predecessor, it is great fun to drive in and around town centres and quite quick away from the lights. On top of this, it is still possible to park, head first, into parallel spaces thanks to it being so small.
The Smart ForTwo normally ranks pretty highly when it comes to being economical, however not when you take into consideration that it is only a two seater. What’s that got to do with anything? I hear you asking, well… its lighter and can’t carry as much weight, thus making it a lot easier to drive more miles to the gallon.
That being said, the new Smart car is very cheap to run with no road tax at all thanks to its low emissions, being only 85g/km. It can also manage 83mpg. All this can be yours for only £8,780.
About the Author
Ant Bradshaw is currently working for AskAprice.com which can provide you with great information on a vast range of manufacturers. Askaprice.com can also provide with you free and competitive Economical Car Quotes.
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