Green Car of the Year announced

Published:

THE Toyota Yaris has been named Green Car of the Year 2008 by the Environmental Transport Association. The car named and shamed as the least green car is the Dodge SRT-10 sports car.

The announcements come during Green Transport Week, which runs until June 22.

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) has looked at more than 1,300 models of cars currently on sale in Britain and examined their power, emissions and fuel efficiency, and even the amount of noise they produce, to create the definitive guide to buying the greenest vehicle.

The guide was first published in 1992 in response to requests from the ETA’s growing membership and has since become the environmental benchmark for the car industry and the public, championing the greenest cars in Britain.

ETA director Andrew Davis said: “With the increasing costs of motoring and the threat to the environment, there has never been a more important time to choose greener cars.”

As well as recognising the best performers, the guide “names and shames” the worst offenders in terms of damage to the environment, with the eight-litre Dodge SRT-10 being named overall worst car.

“The discrepancy between the best and worst – the greenest and the least green cars in Britain today – is striking, but the market is changing and a combination of consumer pressure, alongside Government leadership, will result in an increasing choice of environmentally sound cars,” said Mr Davis.

“The big problem is not the Dodge SRT-10s and Lamborghinis, because there are not many of them on the road. The concern is that people are buying cars that are much too big for their real needs.”

Don’t miss next week’s Green Issue of Your Car, only in the Press and Journal.