The new Volvo S40 DRIVe was last night named green car of the year in an environmental competition organised by What Car? magazine.
The Volvo beat 23 other contenders to take the top prize in the awards organised in association with Michelin and Warranty Direct.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Three cheers to the Volvo S40 DRIVe for scooping the top prize.”
“There are clear incentives for manufacturers to raise the bar higher and higher to design less gas-guzzling cars that take hundreds of pounds off consumers’ fuel bills. This is good for the planet, good for the economy and great for the driver.” The Herald
Offering exceptionally low CO2 emissions of just 104g/km and fuel consumption of just 3.9 litres per 100 kilometres , What Car?‘s judges praised the S40 DRIVe’s unique combination of low emissions, practicality, safety and driver enjoyment as key reasons for the win.
Steve Fowler, What Car’s editor, heaped praise on the car. He said: “Volvo’s S40 DRIVe is one seriously appealing eco-friendly car. Its low emissions don’t come at the expense of quality, safety or driver enjoyment and its great value, too. It’s everything we look for in a Green Car of the Year.”
Upon receiving the award, Stuart Kerr, Volvo’s Regional President of Europe said: “Volvo has a strong commitment to its environmental activities and we have worked hard to reduce the carbon footprint on all our cars by focusing on health, resource utilisation and the ecological consequences right through from production, use to disposal.” Khabrein.info
The new Lexus RX450h picked up the award for best green SUV, while the best green family car award went to the Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4D.
For the second year running, the British-built Mini Cooper S picked up the award for the greenest sports car, and BMW’s 318d was named best green executive car.
At different ends of the market, the Fiat 500 Stop&Start was awarded best green supermini, while the Audi A8 2.8 V6 collected the gong for the greenest luxury car.
The Technical Award went to Vauxhall for its Ampera, an electric car that goes on sale in 2012, and which will seat four, offer all the luxuries consumers are used to, and meet exacting safety standards. News - What Car?
The winners:
Supermini
Fiat 500 Start&Stop £9,700, 113g/km, 58.9mpg
Small family car
Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe S £17,495, 104g/km, 72.4mpg
Family car
Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4D T2 £17,545, 135g/km, 55.4mpg
Executive car
BMW 318d ES £24,235, 123g/km, 60.1mpg
MPV
Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi £19,095, 140g/km, 53.3mpg
4X4
Lexus RX450h SE-L £50,460, 148g/km, 44.8mpg
Sports car
Mini Cooper S £16,575, 149g/km, 45.6 mpg
Luxury car
Audi A8 2.8 V6 FSI SE £49,970, 199g/km, 34.0mpg
Technology
Vauxhall Ampera
Editor’s award
Tesla
guardian.co.uk
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