Top 10 most environmentally friendly cars in 2012

British edition of Next Green Car has made Top-10 most environmentally friendly cars in 2012 .Most cars from this dozen have decent characteristics and a price that allows you to compete with traditional cars equipped with an internal combustion engine.

The struggle to reduce harmful CO2 emissions into the atmosphere has been going on for a long time, and great efforts in this direction are made in the automotive industry.

Over the past couple of years, there has been a real breakthrough in the production of hybrid cars and electric vehicles. And let many of them have not yet gone into mass production, the declared level of CO2 is impressive.

10. BMW 5 Series ActiveHybrid( CO2 level - 149 g / km).

This "sport hybrid" allows you to enjoy aggressive driving, but at the same time harmful emissions will be 16% less than the petrol partner BMW 535i. The main engine is a twin-turbocharged TwinPower Turbo with a double charge, which is assisted by an electric motor. The minimum cost of ActiveHybrid 5 is 57 thousand Euros, which is not much higher than that of a gasoline car.

9. Citroen DS5 HYbrid4( CO2 level - 99 g / km).

The hybrid car operates from a diesel two-liter HDi with a FAP filter and an electric motor with a power of 27 kW.The developers of the car tried to give the salon a rather futuristic look. The price of DS5 HYbrid4 for Europe is clearly too high - 43 750 Euro.

8. Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4( the level of CO2 is 99 g / km).

The diesel-electric car works on the same pair of engines as the hybrid from Citroen. The declared fuel consumption is 3.8 liters per 100 km. The price fluctuates around 30 thousand Euros.

7. Volkswagen Up!1.0 BlueMotion( CO2 level - 97 g / km).

The new car from Volkswagen costs only 11,5 thousand Euro. The fuel consumption is 3.2 liters per 100 km. Fuel economy in comparison with gasoline models is about 10%.

6. Kia Rio 1.1 CRDi EcoDynamics( CO2 level - 85 g / km).

The Korean hatchback spends 2.6 liters of fuel per 100 km of track - one of the best indicators. Under the hood of this environmentally friendly machine is a 1.1 liter engine. Sales of the compact began in 2012 at a price of 12.5 thousand euros.

5. Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid( CO2 level - 49 g / km).

The machine runs on the Hybrid Synergy Drive system already tested in the production. Under the hood of the car is a 1.8-liter DOHC VVT-i petrol engine with 16 valves and two electric motors - 60 and 42 kW.The lithium-ion battery is enough for 22 km of traffic without exhaust. The price of the car is about 34 thousand Euro.

4. Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid( CO2 level - 49 g / km).

Eco-friendly and powerful car works on an impressive base: 215-strong turbodiesel paired with an electric motor of 50 kW.Without the exhaust, the car can travel 50 kilometers. Volvo accelerates to "hundreds" in 7 seconds and costs about 57 thousand euros. The V60 Plug-in Hybrid is scheduled for launch in autumn 2012.

3. Vauxhall Ampera( CO2 level is 27 g / km).

The car, in fact, is a copy of the Opel Ampera and Chevy Volt. The power of the power plant is 110 kW.In the autonomous mode, the car can travel about 60 km, and paired with a DVS-generator - all 500. The cost of the car is about 35 thousand euros.

2. Renault Fluence ZE( CO2 level - 0 g / km).

Machines with electric motors are absolute leaders in the rating of environmentally friendly cars. In 2012, Renault produces on the market as many as 4 electric vehicles, and Fluence ZE - one of them. The electric motor power is 70 kW.The battery allows you to drive without recharging 160 km at a speed of a maximum of 135 km / h. It takes 6-8 hours to fully charge the car, but 80% of the charge will be restored in the first 40 minutes. Sales in Europe began in the summer of 2012.

1. Smart Fortwo ED( CO2 level - 0 g / km).

The most environmentally friendly car is equipped with a 50 kW motor. The maximum speed of the microcar is 130 km / h. The charge is enough for 136 kilometers of the way. The standard charging time from the home network is 6-8 hours. The price of the basic equipment is about 20 thousand Euro. Batteries can be rented for about 70 Euros per month. Sales of Fortwo ED started in the summer of 2012 in two versions - a convertible and a coupe.