Some green car releases this year

Hi there! I’ll shift gears in this post to those vehicles that in the new year might arouse the interest of people who are plugged into the ‘green car’ scene. Some names of cars have already been mentioned in earlier posts. There’s the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric that tops the list as a car with zero emissions. It needs up to 7 hours to recharge, has a top speed of 87 mph and gives 0-62 mph in 13.0 seconds. Up next is the Smart fortwo cdi with carbon dioxide emissions of 88 g/km. It is powered by a diesel engine that can produce 45 bhp. With a top speed of 84 mph this car can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 19.8 seconds.

The Ford Ka ECOnetic, Toyota iQ, and Volkswagen Golf Mk VI BlueMotion are all tied at third place with carbon dioxide emissions of 99 g/km. Having said that, I must also state that in the case of the Ford Ka ECOnetic, carbon dioxide emissions are 'expected' to be in range of 99 g/km. Ford’s offering in its ECOnetic range bears testimony to its committed efforts at rolling out eco-friendly vehicles. The Toyota iQ is the smallest 4-seater car in the whole wide world. With an engine capable of producing 67 bhp and an average of 65.7 mpg, this car has a top speed of 93 mph and can reach 60 mph in 14.0 seconds. However, for its size it is a pricey car. If economics are at the top your agenda, the manual transmission variant is a better choice. Moving on, the Volkswagen Golf Mk VI BlueMotion that will roll out in September this year will give 74.3 mpg and race to 62 mph in a fairly decent 11.3 seconds. This car has a top speed of 117 mph.

The Toyota Prius hybrid scheduled to release in June this year is expected to have carbon dioxide emissions of 100 g/km. This 5-seater has a petrol engine and will give 75 mpg. Next on our list is the Nissan Pixo which is like the Suzuki Alto in many ways. The Pixo is a 4-seater hatchback and will be available in both manual and automatic transmission variants. This is due for release in September this year. With carbon dioxide emissions of 103 g/km this car gives 61.4 mpg. The Honda Insight hybrid is expected to be among the showstoppers this year. This vehicle has carbon emissions of 110 g/km. Toyota Prius which so far was unchallenged faces stiff competition from this vehicle which is already on the market.

Others vehicles that are keenly awaited are the Honda CR-Z hybrid which is slated for release December this year and the Lexus RX450h SUV hybrid scheduled to roll out sometime this summer.