Buying an eco-friendly car isn’t just good for the planet, but also good for your wallet. With fuel costs being as high as they are, it can make a huge difference switching to a greener car. You’ll also save money on road tax, plus there may even be other things you can save money on such as emission zone fees.
But just what makes a car eco-friendly? Below are just a few tips for choosing an environmentally friendly car.
Is a small engine car more eco-friendly?
Small engined cars (between 1 and 1.9 litres) typically provide more miles per gallon than large engined cars. As a result, they can be more eco-friendly, because you’re likely to use less fuel.
Just consider the type of driving you do and the way that you like to drive. If you like to get up to speed as fast as you can on the motorway, you could find that a small engined car requires more revs to do so, which means you’ll be burning fuel faster. Small engined cars are more likely to save you money if you’re willing to accelerate slowly or if you’re likely to mostly drive on slower speed roads.
Look out for eco-friendly trademarks and certificates
There are various certificates and trademarks out there that can be a good indication as to whether a car model or car manufacturer has met certain environmental standards.
Planet Mark is an example of a certificate awarded to companies that prove themselves to meet a certain level of environmental-friendliness. Volvo is one car manufacturer that has achieved a Planet Mark certificate.
Some manufacturers meanwhile have their own trademarks to signify that a certain model has met certain environmental or fuel efficiency standards. Ever wondered what is Mercedes blueefficiency? This is a notable example of a trademark used by Mercedes to indicate models that have met a high level of efficiency.
Research the tax band
Vehicle tax bands can also help you determine how eco-friendly a specific model of car is. You can look up a vehicle’s tax band online by entering the registration number. Tax band A is the cleanest tax band and is reserved to cars that produce less than 100 g/km in CO2 emissions. Tax band M is the most polluting tax band and includes vehicles that produce over 255 g/km in CO2 emissions. It’s worth noting that you’ll pay no tax for a vehicle in tax band A, but over £1000 per year in tax for a vehicle in tax band M.
Consider going electric
Electric cars produce much less greenhouse gases than petrol or diesel cars, making them a much better choice for those that want to reduce their carbon footprint. They can also save you a huge amount of money in fuel – while they can cost you extra money on your electricity bill, this is much less overall than you would pay for fuel in a year.
The downside of EVs is that they’re more expensive to buy upfront and have reduced range. However, the price of EVs is going down, and the range is going up (there’s also the option of hybrids to consider so that you still have the choice to use petrol for long journeys).