Ten cars to save the world
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Your support makes all the difference.If you don't want to wait for the Americans to sign up to Kyoto, you can do your bit for the green cause now. The most environmentally friendly thing to do is to cycle or walk, and occasionally venture on to public transport. Or you could keep an old car of simple design, such as the Morris Minor, on the road indefinitely (on lead-free fuel of course). But if you must buy a new car, the good news is that there is much more of a green choice out there - right now - than you might think.
For a start, virtually any car can be altered to run on Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) , which, given that LPG is about half the price of petrol, helps defray the £1,000 or so cost of conversion. Then there are brand new factory-fitted bi-fuel cars from the likes of Vauxhall and Volvo, with the latter offering a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) option. The snag is there are only a coupe of dozen filling sites for CNG and not that many (1,000) for LPG.
Or you can go electric. The energy still has to be generated somewhere, but power stations are much more efficient than the internal combustion engine, and pollution is taken away from congested city streets. Most are a bit wacky, but that can pay for a small business seeking attention.
Best are the current generation of "hybrid" cars, which cleverly combine petrol power with an electric motor, the engine charging the batteries during deceleration or heavy braking, for example. We have the Toyota Prius, the Lexus RX400h and the Honda Civic IMA, all practical and with low running costs that compensate for their relatively high purchase price.
The real problem is the continuing suspension of the Government's Powershift Grant Scheme ( www.powershift.org.uk). This used to offer motorists a discount for converting or buying a green car, but has been stopped because of a wrangle with the EU. There's not much chance of saving the world when the politicians and bureaucrats behave like that.
Toyota Prius (hybrid)
PRICE: £17,545
MPG: 65.7
0-60mph: 11 secs
Top speed: 102mph
Range between refuelling:
104 miles
Co2/km: 104g
Piaggio MPV (electric)
PRICE: £16,495
MPG: n/a
0-60mph: n/a; Top speed: 36mph
Range: 100 miles; Co2/km: nil
Further information: www.piaggioporter.co.uk
Aixam Mega
(electric)
PRICE: £9,590 (pick-up version)
MPG: n/a
0-60mph: n/a; Top speed: 30mph
Range between refuelling: 62 miles; Co2/km: nil
G-Wiz (electric)
PRICE: £6,999 (special offer)
MPG: n/a
0-60mph: n/a
Top speed: 40mph
Range between
refuelling: 40 miles
Co2/km: nil
Further information: www.goingreen.co.uk
Lexus RX400h (hybrid)
PRICE: £35,485
MPG: 34.9
0-60mph: 7.6 secs
Top speed: 124mph
Range between refuelling: 490 miles
Co2/km: 192g
Aixam A.751 (diesel)
PRICE: £7,500
MPG: 80
0-60mph: n/a
Top speed: 50 mph
Range between refuelling: 300 miles
Co2/km: "low"
Further information: www.aixamatwheelsnw.co.uk
Vauxhall Corsa Dual Fuel 1.2 (petrol/LPG)
PRICE: £12,015
MPG: 38.2
0-60mph: 10.9 secs
Top speed: 109mph
Range between
refuelling: 644 miles
Co2/km: 119g
Smart LPG conversion
PRICE: £6,810 + £1,996
MPG: 50+
0-60mph: 17.7 secs; Top speed: 84mph
Range between refuelling: 250 miles
Co2/km: 90g; Further information www.c-freelpg.co.uk
Morris Minor (petrol)
PRICE: £400 to £5,000+
MPG: about 40
0-60mph: 27 secs
Top speed: 75mph
Range between refuelling: 260 miles
Co2/km: not measured
Honda Civic IMA (hybrid)
PRICE: £15,230
MPG: 57.6
0-60mph: 13secs
Top speed: 108mph
Range between refuelling:
640 miles
Co2/km: 116g
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