There’s no doubt that going ‘green’ is at least somewhere on everyone’s agenda at the moment, whether they are a motorist or not. I’d certainly recommend though, if you drive a car, that you look again at exactly what it costs. This includes your own driving style, and whether you’re a bit heavy with the old right foot at times.
It’s a wonderful thing that people are taking more interest in green models, not least because the manufacturers are doing just the same. This means that you aren’t exactly going to be wanting for choice - even if you are wanting for money due to the state of the economy. Nevertheless, for those who can afford it, let’s see what some of the major manufacturers are up to and what you could be driving to save you money.
BMW will provide you with something a bit special (as usual, at least if you like their cars) in the form of their ‘efficient driving dynamics’. This new range contains both efficient diesels and petrols, with stop/start technology to cut Co2 emissions and increase fuel economy. This has led to their BMW 1 Series 118D car being voted the 2008 World Green Car, and is also the reason for it being the main image with this post.
Citroen are not far behind mind you. The French are a nation not to be outdone by the Germans (especially at the moment, anyone seen the new C5 advert? Ooooohhh!), so the fact that they are the winners of the Green Car Manufacturer of the Year should be no surprise. Their line-up of the lowest Co2 emitting diesel vehicles around should mean there is something for everyone, whatever their size or shape preference (as it were).
Once again, these vehicles are fitted with stop/start technology to keep you clean sailing in a traffic jam. Arguably the pick of the bunch - certainly for fuel efficiency - is the C1 city car. This lightweight packs a 1.4 litre turbo diesel that is both fun to drive and emits only 109g/km along with a 69mpg return. Best of all, you can easily pick one up for under £10,000. When you look at it that way, what’s not to like? Well, perhaps you wouldn’t be satisfied with it on a longer motorway journey, but I digress…
Seat is the Spanish brand that shares a lot (including vehicle platforms) with parent company Volkswagen. This means that they have access to technology in order to create the wonderful ‘Ecomotive’ range. Silly branding aside, this line-up really does mean business. Once again, the standout is a smaller car - the 1.4litre Ibiza. At 99g/km you’re exempt from road tax in this funky little car with the S badge, whilst the 73mpg return will put more pennies in your piggy bank. An impressive set of figures for a car that costs slightly over £10,000.
Seat is even offering a performance car with superb economy figures - the rather tasty Seat Leon 1.9litre turbodiesel. Granted, it might not have the badge that you want and it isn’t the most refined of engines, but putting out 148bhp and moving to 60 in less than 9 seconds is pretty good for a diesel.
There are of course a wealth of other manufacturers out there all doing there own thing, but for now, I’ve really just cherry-picked the best of what looks like a bumper crop this year. So, if you’re in for a new car, why not go green? Your wallet will thank you for it, as will the environment…
Despite all of the ownership fears at the present with Jaguar and Land Rover, it would seem that the both companies are still fully committed in bringing out some new quality models which will definitely get the pulses racing of some Range Rover driver who want something slight smaller, and of course at the same time those Freelander owners who are looking for something a little larger.
The new Land Rover slips nicely in between the two models, which will open up a new market for the company to enter, that of the BMW X1 and the Audi Q5, which is something that Land Rover has never done before, it has always had models that were too high too low to bother the Germans giants.
Naturally there is still little known about the basis of the vehicle and what sort of model range they will be having. Basically we can think of it as a sort of cross between the Freelander and it bigger and much more sophisticated brother the Range Rover, which has really changed the market itself over the past few years with models that put all of the others to shame.
