Sunday, November 18, 2012

Top 10 Green Cars of the Year 2012

With the growing emphasis on climate change and environment preservation, automobile companies are increasingly focusing on green energy solutions. Environment-conscious consumers may be interested in the variety that is coming forth in green cars and this year has quite a few interesting models to offer. Here is a look at the top green cars of the year 2012.

1. Kia Rio

Kia Rio is just the perfect mix of economy and environment-friendliness. Kia Rio features diesel, electric and hybrid varieties and with the capacity of 88 MPG fuel efficiency, it is one of the most efficient and environment friendly cars around for a reasonable price. Kia Rio offers one of the most well optimized diesel engines for efficient performance and low carbon emission rate of 85 g/km. The modern, compact design makes it a great choice for the consumers.

2. Fisker Karma

Want to wake up the inner James Bond in you, but in a green way? Then probably nothing would serve you better than Fisker Karma and there are good reasons why. Fisker Karma is a sexy design that delivers remarkable performance for its green mechanism. Fisker Karma is a hybrid electric car that is capable of achieving 100 MPG on a 403 HP engine. Fisker Karma is a four door design and makes you reconsider your thoughts about.

3. Lexus GS 450h

Lexus GS 450h is a rear-wheel drive luxury sports saloon with hybrid petrol and electric engine and a breathtaking design. Lexus GS 450 is the best choice if you love the thrills without hurting the environment too much, as its 363 HP engine can speed up to 60 mph in under 6 seconds. Though such speed takes a 3.5 l V6 petrol engine, it only costs carbon emissions of 145 g/km.

4. Toyota Prius

Toyota Prius is a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid high performance vehicle with a terrific design. Thoroughly rich in style and aesthetics, Toyota Prius features a 1.8 liter petrol engine that delivers a fuel efficiency of 134 MPG. With that performance, Prius only emits 49 g/km CO2 and is not hard on the environment at all. The ground breaking technology of merging the petrol engine with a battery and electric motor is what makes the excellent performance of Toyota Prius possible.

5. Ford Focus ECOnetic Technology

Ford Focus is not a hybrid car and works with a fuel economy of 83.1 MPG. For a car that runs on diesel, this is not bad performance at all along with low carbon emissions of 88 g/km. Focus is a product of Ford’s state-of-the-art ECOnetic technology that is designed to optimize the diesel powered engine and to minimize efficiency leakages. A stylish, four-door sedan, Focus will appeal as much to the aesthetics as it would be good for the environment.

6. Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid is a diesel-electric hybrid sedan with a lot of room to offer. Volvo V60 delivers remarkable fuel efficiency in 150 MPG with emission rate as low as 49 g/km. The combination petrol engine with an electric motor and battery as used in Toyota Prius makes Volvo V60 deliver such brilliant output.

7. Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4

Peugeot 3008 is the world’s pioneering Diesel-Electric Hybrid vehicle, which has an impressive design that itself looks like a hybrid of SUV and MPV cars. Peugeot 3008 offers reasonably good fuel efficiency in 74 MPG paired with the carbon emission rate of 99 g/km. However, another model emits 104 g/km with the fuel efficiency of 74.3 MPG. The vehicle is a good buy particularly due to its low fuel costs and its four wheel drive capability with the diesel engine powering the front wheels and electric motor fueling the back wheels.

8. Renault Twizy

Probably the most unique of all the top green cars of 2012 is Renault Twizy thanks to its compact model that almost makes it look like a golf cart. Its small size gives it the luxury of being completely reliant on electric power. Weighing 450 kg, Twizy is almost a four wheel electric scooter with two seats. You can’t expect it to perform as well as the hybrids given its size and power, of course, as it only covers a 60 mile distance range with a top speed of 47 mph. Lack of ventilation and poor weather protection due to an open design are a couple of other weak aspects of Renault Twizy. Twizy was released in the European markets in early 2012.

9. Renault Zoe

Renault Zoe is a brand new 5-door electric car model from the French manufacturer. Being completely electric, Renault Zoe is great for the environment and with the range of 210 km, it offers pretty good value as well, at least for urban consumers who need to frequently cover short distances. Speaking of performance, the 65 KW electric motor can propel it to a speed of 60 mph in just a little over 8 seconds and with the top speed of 84 mph. Needless to say that all that is achieved with zero carbon emission. The production version of Renault Zoe was announced in March 2012.

10. 2012 Fiat 500

Compact, stylish and convenient, 2012 Fiat 500 is a green car that promises to deliver a wonderful experience. 2012 Fiat 500 is pretty small and probably not as powerful as many of the other cars in the lineup, but its compact design certainly is rich in terms of style.

Source: http://www.autoscraze.com/top-10-green-cars-of-the-year-2012.html

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