Environmental concerns are growing uncontrollably, especially in this day and age when there is ample technology, brainpower and financial back up to provide us with vehicles that release less pollutants and meet environmentally friendly emission standards.
That is why the organization FIA foundation (Federation Internationale de l' Automobile) has emerged with its EcoTest program which specifies the strengths and weaknesses of passenger cars. Launched in 2003, the EcoTest program has built a profile consisting of the environmental performance of a range of popular car models in the European market. The database is set up by the German automobile club ADAC and sponsored by the FIA Foundation. EcoTest assesses the emissions of pollutants ( HC, CO, NOx and PM) and the emissions of the green house gas carbon dioxide. The star rating is calculated by a sum of rating pollutants and CO2. The outcome is a simple and comprehensible rating of 1 to 5 stars for each car. -Continued: Click "Read More..." below
According to the latest ranking, the Toyota Prius hybrid still holds the first place for the most “environmentally friendly” car in the European market.
On the other hand, natural gas vehicles have taken 2nd and 9th rankings in the FIA EcoTest. The Volvo V70 2.4 Bi-fuel was second within just two points of taking out 1st place indicating that biomass fuels have significant potential for CO2 reduction and are likely to outstrip conventional fuel performance in the future. At the bottom of the table, with the highest pollution rating, was the VW Sharan 2.8 Gasol along with the Kia Rio 1.5 diesel which had a high CO2 emissions rating.
Diesel fuelled cars have made startling progress in overtaking their rivals by cutting emissions and reducing pollution. Diesel technologies such as particle filters and selective catalytic reduction show “very promising results”, according to EcoTest.
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