Green Car Reviews

The Importance of Green Cars

With diesel, electric, hybrid and low emission cars making so much news it is horrifying to learn that as much as 8% of our country's harmful greenhouse gas production can be traced back to the pollutants emitted by privately owned cars and that we still have an enormous way to go to reduce our carbon footprint. In an attempt to slow, and possibly even reverse, this trend, the Australian government has begun a 'green car' rating system to assist car buyers in their search for more environmentally friendly vehicles and, no doubt, to pressurize automotive companies into producing vehicles that measure up on the 'green' scale.

On the government's Green Vehicle Guide, cars are evaluated and tested in laboratories according to strictly standardized conditions, to ensure that all the assessments are totally without bias. The cars are then ranked, based on their air pollution rating combined with their measured greenhouse gas output. Whilst such a rating system can only be applauded, it is far from being a perfect gauge of your vehicle's greenhouse emissions as there are numerous factors that can affect how you actually drive and those, in turn, have an impact on your car's emissions and fuel efficiency.

Which Car is the Greenest?

At the time of writing this, there were only 6 vehicles considered 'green' enough to merit an 8, or above, out of 10 (where 10 is the best) for their greenhouse rating, according to the government's assessments. Of those top 6, only 1, the Toyota Prius, with it's "Hybrid Synergy Drive" which utilizes both an electric motor and a traditional petrol engine, achieved a score as high as 9. It is perhaps interesting to note that the next 6 most eco friendly cars on the list all run on fuel efficient petrol engines, not hybrid electric/petrol combinations.

Another point to mention is that so far, a purely electric car has yet to make it into the top 20 of the Green Vehicle Guide's 'Top Performers" list. This may well have a lot to do with the current problems that Australia seems to be having in categorizing many of the electric vehicles that are cropping up more and more overseas. A good example of this is the Reva G Wiz, which is becoming a common sight on the streets of major European cities like London. In Australia, the Indian Reva fails to meet the stringent crash standards that we expect of a car, green or not, and thus it is classified as unfit for Australian roads.

A Greener Future

Having said that, with big car manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Motors hoping to roll out their iMiEV (innovative Mitsubishi electric vehicle) sometime this year, it may only be a matter of time before an electric car makes the rating list along with the hybrids and tweaked petrol engines. Green vehicles are certainly not going away in the foreseeable future and millions of dollars are being poured into cutting the greenhouse emissions released by the average family car.

Reviews and Tips

In the following pages we will review specific green vehicles and give you some tips on what to look for when you are buying a green car. If you wish to check out the government's vehicle ratings in more detail, please go to www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au for more information.