German brands score well in Dutch fuel efficient cars top 10
As one should expect from leading car manufacturers Audi and Mercedes, their newest models are making headway into the top of most fuel efficient petrol and diesel vehicles available.
Every quarter, ANWB (Royal Dutch Touring Club), WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Friends of the Earth Netherlands publish a Top 10 list of the most fuel efficient vehicles for various vehicle classes. According to its creators, the lists help individual and corporate buyers to choose the most climate and cost-friendly vehicles.
The most noteworthy developments in some of the classes are described below.
Middle-sized petrol: hybrids reign
Audi jumps into third place, thereby taking over Renault's top-three spot. Although it emits a tolerable 133 grams CO2 per kilometre, Audi's A3 1.4T FSI cannot compete with the two leading hybrids by a long shot. Toyota's iconic Prius and Honda's Civic Hybrid emit 104 and 109 grams, respectively.
Nice car, but it's the inside that counts as well. Photo: Mercedes via Autoblog Green
Large-sized petrol: Star catching up
BMW is the clear leader in this class. Its 2008 316 model easily outperforms Audi's 2009 A4 2.0 and Mercedes' C180 Kompressor Blue Efficiency. Their respective CO2 emissions per kilometre are 142, 154 and 156 grams. Mercedes seems to be making up some lost ground in terms of environmental performance.
Small-sized diesel: less than 100g
Seat's Ibiza and fraternal twin brother Polo from Volkswagen both show impressive scores. CO2 emissions are 99 g/km for both manufacturers' 1.4 turbo diesel models, which makes these the only two combustion engine cars currently available that are under the 100 g/km limit.
Middle-sized diesel: finish en masse
The results in this class are reminiscent of a Tour de France stage ending in a mass finish. The Seat Cordoba comes in first with a 118 g/km CO2 emission, followed by seven models that all score 119 g/km. Besides the usual suspects - Volkswagen, Audi and BMW - Fiat and Hyundai managed to slide into second place.
Germans settle for less
Large-sized diesel: Big Germans drink less
As is the case in the large-sized petrol class, Mercedes and Audi are making inroads. BMW leads the flock again with its 318d model, trailed by Volvo's S40. Audi's A4 2.0 TDI and the C200 Blue Efficiency Merc come in third and fourth, bumping Skoda's Oktavia 1.9 Tdi out of third place. The models emit 123, 129, 134, 135 and 135 g/km respectively.
Real world performance
Although the performance figures that carmakers publish themselves may look good, all is a tad less rosy when looking at real-world efficiency figures. Such figures are trickling in, thanks to a new standardised test (EcoTest) with which an increasing number of vehicles are tested. The differences between traditional and EcoTest results are more than 15 per cent in some cases.
Real-world figures are important for fair comparison, and moreover, they help companies and individuals make better estimates of the potential savings of green purchasing. Therefore, we hope to see EcoTest results to become available for all vehicles soon.
The heat is on
The efficiency competition promises to get even more interesting as auto makers are preparing to open the hybrid floodgates for various models over the next years. We will keep you posted every quarter about new stars (i.e. not just Mercs) entering the stage.
For a complete overview of all classes, please see here (scroll down a bit to find the 'Download Top10's' heading):
For more information about the EcoTest rating system, please follow this link:
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