Things to Consider When Buying a Green Car
Generally speaking, buying a green car should be just the same as buying any other vehicle. You should look at what is available, decide what features are important to you and determine which models fulfil your requirements. Once you have a good idea of what you want, check reviews, take a test drive or two and then shop around.
If you haven’t decided on a particular model, then it is best to pick a budget. Once you have this budget stick to it. Now is the best time to search for a good car finance deal, again shopping around is your best course of action. Don’t forget to consider the total costs of the vehicle.
One of the top benefits of green cars is that they are more economical, cutting your fuel bill compared to their conventional equivalent. Some models are more economical to run than others, some are taxed at lower rates, pay less or no road tax and are exempt from congestion charges. Like conventional cars, different models depreciate at different levels and there are widely varying costs for repair and maintenance. These are all important features to consider.
Environmentally friendly? How friendly?
What makes green cars ‘green’ is the fact that they release less carbon dioxide. This is generally down to using less (or no) fossil fuel, such as petrol or diesel.
- ‘Conventional’ green cars – Choosing a vehicle which uses its fuel efficiently, meaning low CO2 emissions. This usually means a diesel engine, the benefit of this is that allows you to enjoy driving as normal, while reducing your carbon footprint and saving money.
- Hybrid cars – Combining an internal combustion engine with an electrical motor, hybrid cars are very fuel-efficient. Hybrids are on the whole far more environmentally friendly than diesel cars, and this fact is making them more and more popular. There is a choice of models, but this selection is quite limited making hybrids generally more expensive.
- Electric cars – These are a good choice for the environment, with zero emissions while in use but they are generally a compromise between speed, handling and range. There is also the issue of how the electricity is generated in the first place.
- Alternative fuel vehicles – Bio diesel, Bio-Ethanol or LPG are becoming more popular to power vehicles. These are beginning to offer a viable alternative to petroleum, which is more environmentally friendly. But other issues can affect these alternative fuels, especially finding somewhere which sells these fuels can be an issue.
- Other concepts – There are several new technologies being developed for cars. Hydrogen fuel cells to solar power are all being worked on for cars. None of these are generally available in mass production, restricting these cars to people with big money to spend. But as the technology develops these may become more widely available in the future.
Is a green car suitable for you?
When you come to choose a green car, one of the factors you have to consider is whether the vehicle is suitable for how you are going to use it. This is an especially important when deciding on a green car, simply because the different technology often involved can make them more limited in their capabilities compared with conventional cars.
As an example, someone living in London and regularly travelling across the city, you may opt for the convenience of an electric car. In this case, the electric motor will give you a car which is suitable for driving in the city. It has zero emissions and is exempt from the congestion charge. But it would not be suitable for travelling on the motorway every day. Limited range and speeds would make electric cars inappropriate for you.
There are greener alternatives regardless of what you need your vehicle to do. If, for example, you need a large vehicle to transport your family, there are green alternatives. You can look at the comparative emission levels of suitable vehicles, MPV's and 4x4's. There are models on the market which are far more fuel-efficient than some of their competitors.
So consider your average car usage and make sure that any green car you choose is capable of doing what you what you need it for.
How green is this particular car?
First and foremost, anyone buying a new car should be focusing on how much the vehicle is suitable for them, especially taking into consideration their driving habits, their individual needs and their budget.
Once these most important factors are considered, then you can look into how green the car really is. Primarily this comes down to CO2 emission levels. For conventional cars this comes down to fuel efficiency (measured in miles per gallon). The size of the engine should only be used as a rough guide, how the engine uses the fuel is more important.
High fuel efficiency and low emissions affect whether or not a car will fall under a low tax band or is exempt from congestion charges.
Beyond this, drivers who aim to be as green as possible will look at the ‘lifetime footprint’ of a car before buying it. This includes the carbon released during the car’s manufacture, how much of the car is made from recycled materials and how much can be recycled at the end of the car’s usable life.
|
