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Six of the Best: Green cars
Bands as diverse as Duran Duran and Metallica will attempt to trigger a movement to solve climate change. And there's plenty motorists can do to help the environment too – and nowadays that doesn't mean sacrificing performance, looks or fun. Stuart Milne has rounded up the best and the rest in the world of environmentally-friendly motoring.
BMW Hydrogen 7 BMW’s hydrogen-powered 7 series is indistinguishable from its petrol-powered siblings behind the wheel. It coasts as smoothly and quietly on hydrogen as it does on unleaded, and switches effortlessly between the two at the press of a button. The compromises are the loss of boot space to the hydrogen tank and a lack of filling stations at the moment – and it’s not ready to go on sale yet either. Fuel type: Hydrogen/petrol
Ford Focus FFV One of the biggest benefits of running a bio-ethanol powered car is they're virtually identical to their petrol-powered brothers. That means the Focus FFV has all things which make the regular Focus so good – handling, performance, practicality and running costs – but adds its green credentials to the list. Apart from the stickers on our test car – which aren't available on cars bought from a dealer – there's little to tell it has an alternative fuel source. It drives the same on petrol and it does on ethanol, and you fill it up in exactly the same way. Rarely has reducing emissions been so straightforward. Auto Trader Ten Point Test: Ford Focus FFV Fuel type: Bio-ethanol/petrol
GoinGreen G-Wiz The G-Wiz would seem to be the answer to reducing tailpipe emissions in cities. After all, it doesn't produce any; and doesn't take up much road space either. But the reality is its not actually much good. Its slow, ugly, flimsy and really quite expensive – they cost between £7,000 and £9,000. But the worst of it is it's simply not safe. Top Gear magazine crash tested one recently, and the experts who carried out the test couldn't believe how badly it fared. In fact they wouldn't even use their £130,000 dummies because they were so sure they'd be destroyed. Fuel type: Electric
Lexus LS 600h The Lexus LS 600h is a huge hybrid saloon for high-powered company bosses to lounge in the rear seat – complete with massage - while a lackey ferries them from the office to lunch and back again. This two-and-a-half ton monster uses its electric motor for low to medium speeds while the petrol kicks in when you’ve got your foot down. It’ll still swallow a fair amount of fuel but you’ll save £8 a day congestion charge if you’re using it in Auto Driven: Lexus LS 600h Fuel type: Hybrid
Saab 9-5 BioPower Saab’s 9-5 BioPower has a duel fuel engine that will happily run on ordinary petrol or bio-ethanol E85 – or a mixture of both. Higher octane bio-ethanol gives the car more power, but you’d be hard pressed to notice any other differences. Filling up is extremely easy, with a single filling point on the car just like any other vehicle. This is truly pain-free green driving – if only there were more filling points around the Auto Trader Ten Point Test: Saab 9-5 BioPower Fuel type: Bio-ethanol/petrol
The Prius is the poster boy of the environmental car lobby, and with good reason. Set aside its green credentials and you're left with a capable hatchback which displays decent road manners. And it's quite pretty too. But the downside is you'll pay dearly for this – the range starts at more than £17,700, although London-based drivers will save £8 per day on the Congestion Charge and pay just £15 per year road tax. What Car? verdict Fuel type: Hybrid
Visit Auto Trader's car review homepage for reviews of more than 100 of the most popular makes and models; or see what our partners at What Car? think of them. Previous 'Six of the bests': |
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