Here’s Sian from We Are Futureproof, guest driving at the Revolve Eco-Rally 2010.
Assigned to the 103 g/km petrol-driven Suzuki Alto (What Green Car rating 28) Sian italked to Book of Green news about her trip and the need for the government to continue to support the development of super-clean electric vehicles.
Last year, when I helped judge the What Green Car awards, I was full of hope that next time we’d see production models of ‘proper’ electric vehicles on the shortlist.
And, sure enough, this year my fellow judges and I turned up to Imperial College and there were two cars capable of running on pure electricity parked under the plane trees next to Queen’s Tower.
Unfortunately, neither was strictly eligible for the awards. The plug-in Prius hybrid was just passing through as a guest prototype, and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (while orders can be placed this year) is not quite going to available in UK showrooms during the qualifying period.
To me, the pace of bringing new EVs to the market seems glacial. However, there is light on the horizon at last and several may be in the running for the awards next time they come around. Sometime next year the Nissan Leaf EV should start appearing in Europe, and both Citroen and Renault have vehicles based on the i-MiEV in preparation. The Mini E may even make an appearance on the regular market.
The arrival of real cars that run on electricity can only be a good thing, since the What Green Car ratings for EVs are far below any of the petrol- or diesel-driven models on the market, including hybrids.
The WGC rating aims to be the most scientific method of evaluating the impact of a vehicle, taking into account the full environmental impact of making and driving a car throughout its life.
The very low ratings of EVs (8-10 versus 25-35 for the greenest fossil-fueled cars and hybrids) signify not just lower CO2 emissions from manufacturing and use (even when charged with non-renewable electricity), but also their zero impact on air quality while being driven – a very important factor in congested cities where more than half the world’s population now live.
And at last I have got to drive one, which was very exciting. Unlike the other smaller cars on the shortlist, the i-MiEV’s electric drive really does take off when you put your foot on the accelerator – a feeling that’s all the more extraordinary because it’s also virtually silent.
Yes it is somewhat like driving a dodgem (and just as simple) but the i-MiEV is not a tinny, rattly thing at all. It’s very much a ‘proper’ car – roomy, solid and with decent back seats and everything. All in all, I was very impressed with my first spin in an EV, and the judges – while we couldn’t give it a prize this year – marked it out as the ‘car to watch’ for the real leap forward it represents.
On to the actual winners then.
The full shortlist is below, and I had the chance to drive most of the cars around the short test run around the edges of Hyde Park.
The most impressive thing to note about the field as a whole is the continuing drop in CO2 emissions compared with last year. The overall WGC ratings are falling too, but it’s the strides in pure fuel efficiency that are most noticeable.
The equivalent 3-series BMW that we tested last year emitted (if I remember correctly) 123 g/km of CO2, but this year it was down to 109 g/km. A huge drop in just one year of development, and testament to the company’s efforts with a wide range of fuel-saving technologies in its ‘efficient dynamics’ programme.
Also commended was the Seat Leon MPV – the first I’ve seen that goes below 100 g/km of CO2 and, with other pollutants at Euro V standard, likely to be exempt from the congestion charge in London soon.
Overall, though, it fell to a Toyota hybrid to pick up the main prize again. Last year the new Prius had us all drooling over its improved engine and newly stylish bodywork, but the Prius was always something of a niche car for the eco-concerned, not a car for the average family.
The Auris uses essentially the same engine and has the same ratings and emissions as the Prius. However, by putting the engine into one of their ‘regular’ cars, reducing the price and making them in huge numbers in their new factory in Derbyshire, Toyota are at last bringing hybrids into the mainstream in the UK, and this is what clinched the decision for us.
Read more about the judges’ comments, and see photos on the What Green Car website here.
Winner:
Toyota Auris hybrid – WGC Rating: 32 – CO2: 89 g/km
Commended:
Seat Leon 1.6 TDI Ecomotive – WGC Rating: 28 – CO2: 99 g/km
BMW 320d EfficientDynamics – WGC Rating 31 – CO2: 109 g/km
Citroen DS3 1.6 HDi – WGC Rating: 29 – CO2: 99 g/km
To watch:
Mitsubishi i-MiEV 47kW/Li-ion – WGC Rating: 10 – CO2: 0 g/km
Other cars on the shortlist:
Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TDi BlueMotion – WGC Rating: 26 – CO2: 89 g/km
Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTi ecoFLEX – WGC Rating: 29 – CO2: 98 g/km
Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe – WGC Rating 29 – CO2: 99 g/km
Kia Venga 1.4 CRDi – WGC Rating: 33 – CO2: 117 g/km
Honda CR-Z hybrid – WGC Rating: 37 – CO2: 117 g/km
 |
© Copyright 2009 | we are Futureproof | All Rights Reserved |  |