Green Cars: Evaluating How Green They Are

April 4th, 2011 by Guest Contributor

A lot of cars claim to be green these days. Some really are, of course, but you have to take the initiative to actually look into a vehicle’s performance and compare it to others to know how green your potential buy really is.

If you actually compare the green performance numbers of different cars on the market, some of them may surprise you. FindTheBest’s new Clean and Fuel-Efficient Cars application for comparing various key features allows you to quickly and easily work your way past potential Green Car marketing spin.

You can compare, for instance, the 2011 Smart ForTwo Coupe with the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. The Smart certainly earns higher green recognition. With its unique styling, onlookers from miles away will instantly know that the ForTwo’s owner was willing to sacrifice seating, speed, and trunk space for the sake of the environment. The Jetta, on the other hand, doesn’t stand out much from the crowd, with four seats (5 if you squeeze), a 2-liter engine, a trunk, and standard sedan styling.

So, how much planet are you saving by wedging yourself into the Smart? If you look at them side by side on FindTheBest’s Clean Cars App, you will find that according to the EPA, the Smart gets two more combined miles per gallon (36 vs. 34), has a Greenhouse Gas Score equal to that of the Jetta, and has an Air Pollution Score of 5 compared to the Jetta’s 6.

In the end, the sacrifices made for the ForTwo amount to saving two miles per gallon, and less if you use the freeway frequently. The benefit of the Smart over the Volkswagen actually lies then in the statement it makes. The EPA can’t measure this effect, unfortunately, but the perception that others in the community are choosing to purchase green cars will certainly influence individuals when they go to buy their next car. If one Smart influences a few neighbors to make eco-conscious decisions the next time they’re at the dealership, then the statement has definitely validated the cramped quarters.

Chris Michaels is a business development intern at FindTheBest.com, a comparison website designed to be the trusted place where consumers can find reliable information, free from hidden marketing schemes or other clutter, to make faster and more informed decisions.

Image via riart10

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Tags: 2010 VW Jetta, EPA, Fuel-Efficient Cars, green cars, jetta, smart, Smart ForTwo Cabriolet, Smart ForTwo Cabriolet 2010, VW Jetta

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Guest Contributor

Anonymous

thanks for the note. i love the cars myself & never heard of them being cramped. thanks for the person info
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Anonymous

Can you please mow my car

Great all this engine innovation but I ran into some real green cars. Thought it was so funny that I share it.

Found it on another web blog and credit where credit is due: Source of the article is The Write Future including some great pictures.

http://thewritefuture.typepad.com/the-write-future/2011/03/could-you-mow-my-car-please.html
getagrip42

@jburt56: Regarding the MPG comparison between the fortwo and the Jetta, the article is a bit misleading. The author never mentions that he’s comparing a diesel powered Jetta TDI against a gas powered fortwo. Diesel powered vehicles always get better mileage than their gas powered counterparts (more energy per gallon of diesel fuel) and diesel vehicles produce fewer carbon emissions (but more nitrogen oxides). Of course, you pay more for diesel and a little more for the premium fuel recommended for the smart. A European diesel powered smart would achieve significantly better mileage than the gas model. The size of a vehicle and its relationship to fuel mileage is also misleading. You have to ask yourself why motorcycles that are 1/5 the size/weight of a vehicle cannot achieve 4 to 5 times the mileage – even fuel efficient motorcycles only achieve mileage in the 40s and 50s. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a 2008 smart owner and have averaged 43 MPG over the past 40K+ miles (see Fuelly.com user XCAPEPOD). My commute mileage (non interstate) is ~45 MPG, but my road trips (several 1,500 – 2,000 mile trips) bring it down a bit.
Anonymous

Strange, isn’t it? You’d think the ForTwo could do better.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Thomas-Rasilier/1801025661 Thomas Rasilier

getagrip42 is right. To get a hint about how green a car or a product in generally is you have always to regard it from cradle to grave and maybe even further, e.g. how good can the product be recycled.
But the comparison of a smart and a jetta is a bit contradicting. Because the smart is rather used as a inner city car, the jetta is a car which can be used for every mobility need. However the samrt has a higher potential in cities due to the lower weight.
getagrip42

Of course, “green” involves more than just on road performance (MPG, etc.): Was the vehicle manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner with a minimum of resources? What happens to the vehicle at the end of its useful life? Can it be recycled? Does it incur environmentally negative consequences (e.g., toxic battery pack disposal)? If it uses electricity from the grid, does that energy come from renewable sources? Is it environmentally efficient to repair and maintain (e.g., infrequent oil changes, less oil needed, body parts that don’t require solvent paints for repairs, parts that don’t rust, etc.). Although high MPGs are great, there can be a lot of more that goes into making a car “green.”