Choosing a Greener Car

I have been car less since November last year after a certain motoring mishap which resulted in my old Mitsubishi (gas guzzling) Magna being sent to car heaven. I must say that we haven’t really missed the family car as both myself and my partner both take buses to work and can walk to the shops etc.

But the time has come to try and buy and new car. Along with the usual considerations and negotiation with my partner such and color and boot size, this time round I am far more conscious of the fuel efficiency and amount of CO2 pollution my new car will be responsible for. Immediately my mind went to the Toyota Prius but the base model is about 10K out of our range and I did wonder that how much would we actually use it to get the real benefits?

If I was still an on road sales guy clocking up 25,000+ km a year then I think this would be my preferred choice. Secondly my partner really doesn’t like the look and shape of them and I kind of have to agree with her and the only other alternative at the moment is the Honda Civic Hybrid which I also feel is also a bit overpriced for what you get.

But for the occasional weekend away, golfing trips and shopping we would be lucky to do 10,000 ks a year. So where does that leave us?

I would dearly love to get an electric car but the latest news says that it would be more likely 2012 before that happens. So what is the alternative and how do you know that the new car green credentials are in fact true?

One good resource I found was the Australian Governments “Green Vehicle Guide” The website has some useful information on selecting a car, emissions and fuel efficiency. It also has a “quick compare” guide where you can match and compare cars. Unfortunately it doesn’t go as far as rating the car manufacturers themselves in terms of sustainability but I guess that may be a big ask.

As for me it’s a week of test drives, talking to car dealers, convincing my partner that the color is not that important and checking the ratings and fuel efficiencies. I now really wish that I didn’t run that red light last year….

As always I welcome any comments that you may have.