Top Ten Cars - 2008

Cars? There is no such thing as an environmentally friendly car. Most of us should travel by foot, train or bus. We probably all will have to one day. This section is less about singing the praises of the automobile and more about spreading good information out there to those people who really HAVE to have a car. For those of us who travel on Business, the country vet, the farmer, the midwife, salesmen and the like. What are their options in the short term? There is no point sitting at home and waiting for society to slowly come round to the Post-Carbon Living way of thinking...

Instead we must continue to offer leadership in our necessary personal transportation. Plus there is so much that can be done. Read on.....

Introduction

Welcome to the 2008 update to work we conducted in 2007. Back then we took information for varous sources but mostly that freely available at www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk. We sorted the data by CO2 emissions and picked the Top Ten. This year we did the same thing in September to see what had changed. It is clear that the European & Japanese Manufacturers are jostling for position in this market space because the number of models available in the old Top Ten has exploded. Clearly they are all trying to get into the sub-100g/km CO2 region. One Manufacturer - Volkswagen/Seat is already there.

To try and present as much useful information as possible we have now split out the listing into three Top Tens - one for Petrol, one for Diesel and one for LPG. We now also group the Cars by Manufacturer and Model based upon the highest listing. This puts Seat and Volkswagen together. However we have left the joint-ventures separate so that Peugeot, Citroen and Toyota still rank separately for the 107, C1 and Aygo despite all three cars being basically the same underneath. Apologies to those who may find this a little arbitary. OK - too business!

For comparison consider the g/km of CO₂ PER PASSENGER (!) for the following:

• Full Transatlantic Cruise Ship = 1611

• Short Haul Flying = 250 to 300

• Long Haul Flying = 201

• Motorbike = 107

• Bus = 89

• Rail = 60

Some of these numbers can be disputed but the interesting point is that if you drive ANY of the cars in the below listing WITH ONE PASSENGER your per passenger CO2 footprint is lower than any other form of transport (after walking & cycling). So make best use of that vehicle - lift share!

Petrol

The reason for presenting Petrol, Diesel & LPG separately this year is because of the different emerging strategies available for the consumer. You either buy a Diesel at a small premium and get your low CO2 from the forecourt, or you get a petrol and convert to LPG (if you can). The LPG conversion will cost you £1000 to £2000 but then you save money as the cost of buying the fuel is roughly half that of Petrol or Diesel. Alternatively just use the basic petrol model if that is all you can afford - which is where we start. The basic petrol versions are probably the cheapest to buy but yield the least impressive CO2 footprint. Note, all mpg figures are the combined urban/extra-urban rating:

• Number 1: Toyota Prius 1.5 VV-i Hybrid with 104g/km CO2 & 65.7mpg

• Number 2: Citroen C1 1.0i 3 & 5 door with 108g/km CO2 & 61.4mpg

• Number 3: Toyota Aygo 1.0i 3 & 5 door with 108g/km CO2 & 61.4mpg

• Number 4: Honda Civic Hybrid 1.4 IMA ES with 109g/km CO2 & 61.4mpg

• Number 5: Peugeot 107 1.0 (68bhp) 3 & 5 door with 109g/km CO2 & 61.4mpg

• Number 6: Smart fortwo coupe various models starting from 112g/km CO2 & 60.1mpg

• Number 7: Daihatsu Charade L251 1.0L EFi with 114g/km CO2 & 58.9mpg

• Number 8: Mitsubish i 0.7 mivec turbo i automatic with 114g/km CO2 & 54.6mpg

• Number 9: Kia Picanto 1.1 with 117g/km CO2 & 57.6mpg

• Number 10: Daihatsu Sirion M300 1.0L EFi with 118g/km CO2 & 56.5mpg

Petrol Recommendation

If you need a big car for the urban journey then the Toyota Prius remains king. The Prius is not really a motorway car as that is not its strong point. However we do not believe the Prius can be converted to LPG (happy to hear otherwise). It can't compete with the newer small diesels or the small LPG's on offer here.

Diesel

A small diesel is the next best step to a low CO2 personal transport system. The diesel does offer better CO2 output over the Petrol engined cars but all its other emissions are far worse. For the urban scenario the Diesel remains 'dirty' whilst filling up with diesel is quite expensive at the pump. The advantage is that you can use bio-diesels where available. However not all diesels accept bio-diesel and it is not widely available. This is not a strong factor in today's market. In ten years time things may look different though. The other advantage is that if you don't run up a high mileage then the LPG conversion may never pay for itself. Diesel gives the best combination of low CO2 for the low miler at the smaller outlay.

• Number 1: Seat/Volkswagen Ibiza/Polo 1.4 TDI 80PS "Ecomotion"/"Bluemotion" with 99g/km CO2 & 74.3mpg

• Number 2: Mini Hatchback R56 or Clubman R55 with 104g/km CO2 & 72.4mpg

• Number 3: Citroen C1 1.4HDi with 109g/km CO2 & 68.9mpg

• Number 4: Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI 80PS Green-Line with 109g/km CO2 & 68.9mpg

• Number 5: Fiat 500 1.3 16v MultiJet with 110g/km CO2 & 67.3mpg

• Number 6: Ford Fiesta 1.6 Duratorq TDCi (90PS) (ECO) with 110g/km CO2 & 67.3mpg

• Number 7: Peugeot 206 1.4 HDi with 112g/km CO2 & 65.6mpg

• Number 8: Citroen C2 1.4 HDi with 113g/km CO2 & 65.7mpg

• Number 9: Fiat Panda 1.3 16v MultiJet with 114g/km CO2 & 65.7mpg

• Number 10: Ford Focus 1.6 Duratorq TDCi (90PS) (ECO) with 114g/km CO2 & 65.7mpg

Diesel Recommendation

If you like a slightly larger car for long motorway journeys then these diesels look like a good choice. Certainly top marks to Volkswagen for their "Bluemotion" models which have wiped out the competition. They are head-and-shoulders above the nearest competitor, leap-frogging ahead on the small diesel technology. If you like diesels then there is plenty of choice here for you. Not shown here is the Smart right-hand-drive Diesel fortwo being released in Britain in the first quarter 2009. CO2 emissions are promised to be only 88g/km putting it ahead of the Volkswagen by a mile. Fuel consumption will be only 85.6mpg with a range on a full tank of 670 miles. So, if you wait we suggest an early trip to the Smart dealership....

LPG

Compiling this section is difficult and takes some detective work. First you take the top ten or twenty Petrol-engined vehicles and check on the Greenfuel.org.uk as to whether they can be converted. This eliminated the Hybrids. We assume this is because hey are direct injection models? Several new cars are not listed there but this may just be because they are too new. Then, unless we found other evidence we took a round figure of 16% off the CO2 output figures. This yields:

• Number 1: Citroen C1 1.0i 3 & 5 door with 92g/km CO2

• Number 2: Toyota Aygo 1.0i 3 & 5 door with 92g/km CO2

• Number 3: Peugeot 107 1.0 (68bhp) 3 & 5 door with 92g/km CO2

• Number 4: Smart fortwo coupe various models starting from 93g/km CO2

• Number 5: Daihatsu Charade L251 1.0L EFi with 96g/km CO2

• Number 6: Mitsubish i 0.7 mivec turbo i automatic with 96g/km CO2

• Number 7: Kia Picanto 1.1 with 98g/km CO2 & 57.6mpg

• Number 8: Daihatsu Sirion M300 1.0L EFi with 99g/km CO2 & 56.5mpg

• Number 9: Chevrolet Matiz 0.8S 100g/km

• Number 10: Vauxhall Agila 1.0 12v 101g/km

LPG Recommendation

Summary

This year marks the disappearence of the Smart forfour from the listing. This is a shame as it was a nice car. In its place we have gained plenty of new options. We have not quantified all the costs and benefits. For example the London congestion charge is not considered here nor is taxation or insurance. However, all of these factors become a lot cheaper when you pick one of these cars listed above. Not only cheaper - sometimes completely exempt. So use this list as a starting point, decide how much you think you can afford - it will depend on where you live. Think about how much space you need and your annual mileage. Ask yourself if you have access to an LPG filling station nearby? Put these ideas together and juggle the numbers until you have a shortlist. Remember that, if you are a city dweller you have plenty of alternatives such as the new breed of car-clubs as well as good public transport. Do you really need a car at all? If you do then keep an eye on the future. Fuel prices will only go up. Buy small. You can't go much wrong with a Smart Car of any of the Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 or Toyota Aygo models listed here. Our choice? An LPG converted Toyota Aygo 5 door.

Conclusion

LPG Aygo? You won't have room for a spare tyre and it will cost you £2000 to convert it.
The running costs of these cars are ultra-ultra-low so you should look upon them as an investment. They are great!