tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142063032012-01-30T20:49:40.737ZA blog offering test drives, analysis and opinion about green cars, electric cars and hybrid cars in the UKGreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.comBlogger3751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-24661660746362209452012-01-27T15:53:00.003Z2012-01-27T16:08:07.780Z

By the time 2012 draws to a close, Renault will have launched a full line-up of electric vehicles in the UK, comprising a van, saloon, hatchback, and whatever it is that the Twizy is. While Renault’s electric range is expanding, its conventional car roster is doing the opposite. The company has ceased to offer some of its niche vehicles in the UK, including the Espace people carrier, the Modus

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-44637333605138352182012-01-25T22:33:00.011Z2012-01-26T13:27:28.348Z

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve attended a car launch and found the most fuel efficient version was also the most disappointing car in the range. Power is typically down, responses muffled and trim chosen from the sackcloth end of the options book. So it was refreshing and surprising to realise, at the launch of the 2012 Chevrolet Aveo this week, that the Eco model was the peach in this

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-35340524686747257232012-01-19T20:28:00.006Z2012-01-19T21:11:06.754Z

The promotional photographs published by car manufacturers typically feature empty rural roads, remarkably glorious sunshine, highly dramatic architecture and implausible couples engaged in mountain biking, snowboarding or paragliding. So the snaps accompanying Citroen’s latest upmarket DS3 special edition are unusually honest, for picturing a woman using her car to nip to the shops. OK, so we

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-89318448933310318622012-01-18T20:27:00.009Z2012-01-19T11:01:08.127Z

The Dakar Rally no longer runs between Paris and the Senegalese capital from which it takes its name, sensibly choosing to avoid the threat of targeted terrorist attacks. But steering well clear of roadside bombs doesn’t mean the race has gone all soft. The event remains one of the very toughest challenges in motorsport – its five-thousand-mile, two-week test of mettle has simply been

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-70152692886089900672012-01-17T22:15:00.008Z2012-01-17T22:45:02.223Z

Electric car detractors, of which there are many, seized with glee on figures published earlier this month showing that only 1,052 plug-in cars were registered in the UK last year. The number is certainly lower than some were hoping. In the run-up to the launch of the Nissan Leaf EV, for example, Nissan’s UK managers told me they were hoping to shift 2,000 in year one. Indeed, they said they

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-38438548778322827712012-01-16T21:26:00.005Z2012-01-16T21:39:45.317Z

BMW has published further details of its upcoming 1-Series EfficientDynamics Edition, which will be the most frugal car in BMW’s line-up when it goes on sale in March.The most important piece of new information is the price – the 116d ED will start from £20,885 on the road, a £380 increase over the ordinary 116d SE on which it’s based. Although the EfficientDynamics Edition has a smaller diesel

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-66116669741940959152012-01-13T11:21:00.004Z2012-01-13T11:32:36.659Z

I much admired the recycled E-Type Jaguar that did so well in the recent Brighton-to-London Future Car Challenge, having had its straight-six engine replaced with an electric motor and a load of lithium-ion batteries. Toyota’s beautiful 2000GT coupe was Japan’s riposte to the E-Type when it went on sale in 1967, and now one has undergone its own electric car upgrade. I’d be able to tell you more

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-85107750851033151142012-01-12T22:47:00.007Z2012-01-12T23:13:37.520Z

Concept cars are rarely a good indicator of what’s actually going to come out of a car factory at any point, but I do hope something of the Toyota NS4 – unveiled at the Detroit motor show this week – makes it onto the road. No doubt the concept’s name won’t. Apparently NS4 stands for New Splendid 4-door, which is the most marvellous Toyota name since the Midship Runabout 2-seater (better known as

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-79602257521797065412012-01-11T16:18:00.006Z2012-01-11T16:43:31.045Z

Toyota will bring its full hybrid system to the hugely popular supermini sector in the middle of 2012, with the launch of the Yaris Hybrid. The car will combine a new 1.5-litre engine with a motor and battery derived from the components shared by the Prius, Auris and Lexus CT200h hybrids. Those three are of course larger cars, each employing a 1.8-litre 98bhp engine and 79bhp electric motor for a

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-28203410111074158262012-01-10T18:59:00.007Z2012-01-10T19:32:22.810Z

First the good news: the upcoming Vauxhall Ampera has been shortlisted for the 2012 European Car of the Year award (sharing the nomination with its Chevrolet Volt sibling). If it wins, it will be the second victor in succession to sport a socket for plugging into the mains, after Nissan’s electric Leaf carried off the laurels last year. However, the new range-extended duo must line up against

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-71741686140033441392012-01-10T15:33:00.009Z2012-01-10T16:51:28.649Z

It’s winter, and I’m in Sweden. A few moments ago I lost my footing on the ice-slicked pavement, but now – most unexpectedly – I’m perspiring profusely and wouldn’t mind shedding a few layers. Welcome to the sweaty test chamber of Volvo’s climate laboratory, where it’s an unseasonal 40°C in the shade - and more to the point inside the car that’s slowly cooking me. Just breathing the air feels

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-39609821103800720272012-01-09T19:29:00.009Z2012-01-16T17:29:05.560Z

It’s only a few days since I compiled my marathon roundup of green cars due in 2012, and already it’s out of date. Today brought news of two new and very significant cars that should arrive before this freshly unwrapped year is out. At the Detroit motor show this morning, Ford unveiled its new Fusion mid-size passenger car, which will arrive in Europe wearing Mondeo badges late this year or early

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-13193501095923680312012-01-06T16:38:00.016Z2012-01-06T18:38:03.460Z

A torrent of new cars is due to flood our roads during 2012. Here are some of the new models we can look forward to that will each offer better than average fuel economy.If you haven’t already, don’t forget to read part one and part two of the GreenMotor 2012 new-car roundup.Peugeot 208 – springPeugeot has set out to right the hideous wrongs of the outgoing 207 with its replacement,

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-27022002957300568052012-01-05T11:11:00.013Z2012-01-06T18:39:39.022Z

The coming 12 months will witness the debuts of a host of new greener cars. Here are some of the coming attractions at the more economical end of the market.If you haven’t already, don’t forget to read part one of the GreenMotor 2012 new-car roundup.Ford B-Max – SeptemberFord’s smallest MPV, based on the same platform as the current Fiesta, promises to bring uniquely easy access to its

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-61172367405222146272012-01-04T08:01:00.005Z2012-01-04T10:06:18.134Z

Volvo will use next week’s Detroit motor show to unveil a concept XC60 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The mid-size off-roader will boast not only a powerful petrol engine but also a muscular electric motor, charged from the mains between journeys. The concept XC60 will borrow most of its innards from the V60 plug-in estate, which is in the final stages of pre-production development. But

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-69124539952605338132012-01-03T11:08:00.012Z2012-01-09T19:50:12.947Z

Over the coming 12 months we will see a horde of new greener and more economical cars roll out onto our roads. Here are some of the highlights to look out for over the coming year. Audi A1 Sportback – FebruaryThe order books have already opened for the five-door edition of Audi’s tiny A1, ahead of the first deliveries in February. Audi calls this body style “Sportback”, presumably because “5-door

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-72577035212927149912011-12-21T15:15:00.005Z2011-12-22T11:49:16.115Z

If you are ever unfortunate enough to crash your car in the vicinity of Gothenburg in Sweden, you might find Jan Ivarsson and his team descending on the scene with the unseemly enthusiasm of a whiplash claims lawyer. Ivarsson is Volvo’s safety manager, responsible for ensuring Volvo cars remain among the safest on the road. He is also one of the many employees charged with delivering the company’

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-22123462215408801792011-12-19T20:28:00.011Z2011-12-20T10:19:08.052Z

BMW was kind enough to invite me to its annual media party, held late last week, which gave me the unfamiliar opportunity to rub shoulders with people I’d previously only seen in the pages of car magazines and on the telly. It was also an opportunity to see some of the cars BMW will be using next year to ferry athletes and VIPs around during the 2012 London Olympics, including the newly minted 3-

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-15269884077093208312011-12-14T00:10:00.002Z2011-12-20T12:13:05.494Z

When I first started reading and writing about hybrid cars, they were uniformly petrol-powered. The most common refrain, aside from complaints that the batteries would have the life expectancy of a Christmas cracker, was that a good diesel was a much better bet. It’s true that a modern diesel engine can be astonishingly efficient, but there are cards a hybrid can play that a diesel alone can

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-29080536678475040812011-12-13T08:00:00.006Z2012-01-04T09:58:29.645Z

This is the production version of Volvo’s new range-topping V60 estate, which will go on sale late in 2012 priced at about £47,000. The V60 PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) will be able to call on two sources of power: a 215bhp five-cylinder diesel engine in the nose, driving the front wheels, plus a 70bhp electric motor at the back, driving the rear wheels. The combination means the V60

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-53562230875617832192011-12-11T18:18:00.014Z2011-12-20T11:44:42.467Z

Over the next six months or so, a trio of new city cars will roll onto UK roads, launched by separate limbs of the giant Volkswagen octopus. First to appear will be VW’s own Up! (complete with hyperactive exclamation mark), which is already available to order ahead of spring deliveries. Sister brands Seat and Skoda will offer their Mii and Citigo versions of the same car once the VW has built up

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-54740782492887391602011-12-08T22:34:00.014Z2011-12-12T10:23:31.106Z

Volvo is currently in full swing with its electric car research programme, which will see several hundred of the Swedish firm’s C30 hatchbacks converted to run as battery electric vehicles. I say several hundred rather than an exact number, because different people at Volvo have told me different things. Executives tend to say 250, but the manager of the special vehicles workshop where they are

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-44080144500190960312011-12-07T21:41:00.006Z2011-12-07T23:21:01.153Z

Wondering what to get the eco-conscious car nut in your life for Christmas? Worry no longer – I’ve done the thinking for you. Here are a handful of gift ideas for green motoring fans, from cheap to pricey, frivolous to practical. 1. The Efficient Driver’s HandbookPublished by the RAC, this 95-page book offers a comprehensive guide to saving fuel, providing tips on car maintenance, driving style,

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-3063872977914110422011-12-01T20:43:00.009Z2011-12-01T21:10:02.985Z

On my way to visit relatives in Gravesend last weekend, I drove past a car dealer and couldn’t help noticing the droop-nosed curves of a Nissan Leaf electric car parked on its forecourt. It snagged my attention because it wasn’t taking pride of place in the new-car area but was instead lurking among the mid-spec Micras in the approved-used parade. Despite a spot of half-an-eye-on-the-road craning

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-47571404149160171212011-11-30T11:02:00.007Z2011-11-30T14:14:59.239Z

I’m not at the Tokyo motor show today but I wish I was, if only to poke at two cheeky urban commuter cars very obviously inspired by Renault’s innovative Twizy city EV. Daihatsu’s Pico looks a lot like someone has taken a set-square to Renault’s angular design. The Pico is remarkably upright and sober in demeanour, despite splashes of lurid lime green and the playful animated graphics running

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-59447902220987414652011-11-25T16:21:00.011Z2011-11-25T19:59:07.001Z

Like most motoring enthusiasts with more spare time than spare cash, I often find myself window shopping on used-car websites. Today was the turn of Netcars, which has the bonus of real-world owner reviews for added entertainment. Also like most motoring enthusiasts, I have a constantly changing fantasy dream garage, a parade of shiny cars that I’d definitely buy if I just had the money. And the

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-41976020668386178102011-11-11T07:46:00.002Z2011-11-16T16:01:47.165Z

Last weekend’s Future Car Challenge demonstrated that you don’t need to be giant international auto maker with a huge budget to build an energy-efficient vehicle. Nine of the top 10 finishers in the Brighton-to-London event were entered by small firms or privateers.The final ranking was decided according to the energy used to travel the 60-mile route, as independently measured by a team of

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-85799455715231842752011-11-06T20:17:00.012Z2011-11-07T14:13:42.534Z

Saturday saw the running of the second-ever RAC Future Car Challenge, an annual Brighton-to-London rally for eco cars, challenged to make the 60-mile trip using the least energy. Last year’s overall winner was Gordon Murray’s marvellous T25 city car. It competed again in 2011, emblazoned with stickers announcing its 96mpg winning achievement last time, but in the end was eclipsed by its

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-7504145062802209382011-11-02T06:00:00.004Z2011-11-02T13:36:30.258Z

Nissan has kindly loaned me a Micra DIG-S for a week, but I won’t need seven days to make my mind up about this car’s engine. A few hours has convinced me that the DIG-S motor - a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder, supercharged petrol unit - is a work of art. It’s smooth, responsive and strong, makes an engaging array of noises from hums to purrs to whistles, and is delivering well in excess of 40mpg.I’d

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-41958241923863721442011-10-13T09:56:00.045Z2011-10-25T18:50:48.924Z

Over the last couple of years motor manufacturers have shown off a surprising variety of concepts designed to set aside the conventions of traditional cars. The aim has been higher fuel economy or lower carbon impact, compact dimensions for urban nippiness, and looks that demand a double take. I've rounded up a few of my favourites for a quick hit parade of future mobility solutions. 10.

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-5993872062087287732011-10-06T17:19:00.005Z2011-10-06T17:34:06.872Z

One interesting idea Volvo is toying with, ahead of the launch of its V60 plug-in hybrid next year, is an extra set of buttons to let you tell the car whether you’re about to set off on a short, medium or long drive. The duration of an upcoming journey might seem irrelevant for most cars, but for a plug-in hybrid it’s quite an important piece of foreknowledge. Plug-in hybrids, as well as

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-15967714253402484622011-09-26T07:26:00.001Z2011-09-26T20:08:15.325Z

I’ve been lucky enough to tour a couple of car factories since I started writing this blog. In Oxford I visited the Mini final assembly line, witnessing how painted bodyshells creep through the factory as glass, engines, wheels and interiors are bolted, screwed, hammered and glued into place. To cope with Mini’s famously wide variety of optional combinations, parts arrive on site in carefully

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-30731829002472343582011-09-14T08:11:00.003Z2012-01-12T17:32:52.422Z

Peugeot’s 3008 Hybrid4 is the first diesel-electric hybrid car to go on sale in the UK - orders are already under way - but it happens to be the second diesel hybrid I’ve driven, after my recent spin in a prototype Volvo V60 hybrid. The two cars have a fair bit in common. Not only are they both diesel-electric, they are also both “through-the-road” hybrids, with an absence of mechanical

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-82502077755474346362011-09-03T19:51:00.007Z2012-01-12T17:35:16.049Z

Lexus got in touch a short while ago to arrange a loan of one of its cars. The company is currently keen to reach out to bloggers, it seems, and wants to foster three brand associations, namely fashion, environment and luxury. Clearly I fall into the middle of those three buckets, given my unarguable shortfalls in the other two. I elected to borrow a CT 200h, Lexus’s smallest and most economical

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-7281208968371527832011-08-27T09:38:00.004Z2011-12-21T16:13:48.158Z

Volvo’s V60 Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle will go on sale in the autumn of 2012, so there’s about a year of development work still to complete. Which is just as well because I appear to have broken the one I’ve borrowed. All I did to the unfortunate hand-built prototype was switch it off and on again too quickly, and the fiendish software lurking behind the dashboard got all confused. Now it

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-30650857567159403692011-08-23T22:21:00.007Z2011-08-23T22:35:42.747Z

Ever wondered if you can run an electric car solely on solar power? Well you can, of course, even in the not-so-sunny UK. The caveat is that you can’t run a car using solar panels that will fit on the car roof, sadly – or at least not the kind of car that can carry a couple of ordinary people and their luggage. Much like running a plug-in car from mains electricity, solar motoring is a case of

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-25203766971764553132011-08-11T19:40:00.004Z2011-08-16T17:23:31.638Z

The purpose of the annual Revolve Eco-Rally, this year sponsored by tyre maker Bridgestone, is to highlight greener transport options. The breadth of this year’s event was vast: entrants ranging from a huge diesel lorry part powered by liquefied natural gas, though to svelte electric sports cars like the Lightning GT and Delta E-4. Running between Oxford and London, with a side-route for

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-23600997808455494062011-08-04T21:54:00.010Z2012-01-12T17:36:10.103Z

The Jazz Hybrid supermini borrows its petrol-electric drivetrain from its slightly larger sibling, the Honda Insight hybrid. The exchange is no robbery, given that the Insight was itself built atop the Jazz’s chassis. And the hybrid powertrain is in turn a simplified and downsized collection of pieces proven in the earlier Civic IMA hybrid. The result is the cheapest hybrid car on sale in the UK.

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-10206587679999407152011-08-01T12:53:00.006Z2011-08-02T10:37:04.417Z

Late last week, BMW unveiled further details of its two upcoming “i” cars, the i8 plug-in sports hybrid and the more modest i3 electric urban vehicle. It also showed off the latest concept versions of the two cars, giving heavy hints about how they will look when the pair go on sale – as early as 2013 in the case of the i3, a year later for the sleeker, faster car. I can’t help but be more

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-89613806084270206932011-07-19T21:53:00.003Z2012-01-12T17:36:31.943Z

My goal this afternoon is to drive 45 miles without running out of battery power. I’m following a scenic route from the Louwman Museum in The Hague, aiming for a beach-front bar a little way up the Dutch coast in Noordwijk aan Zee. Well, when I say scenic route, I simply mean the long way round. There’s not much to look at in these chequerboard lowlands with their arrow roads and quiet canals. At

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-18008380322895484542011-07-10T15:18:00.006Z2011-07-10T16:15:49.948Z

I was recently invited to give a lecture for BusinessGreen on the economics of running an electric vehicle as a company car. I thought I knew all about electric cars and the incentives to encourage their adoption, but as my research quickly revealed I didn’t know the half of it. I didn’t know the complicated, confusing half. So here is a summary of the facts, as simply and as clearly as I can

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-79597233288454566382011-06-28T18:07:00.002Z2012-01-12T17:36:54.259Z

There’s a hefty, paperback-sized slab of black plastic lurking behind the rear-view mirror, as viewed from the driver’s seat of this Volvo S60. Climb out and peer back in at the crest of the windscreen and you can see the slab holds an impressive array of complicated-looking sensors. Some are part of Volvo’s innovative City Safety system, scanning the road ahead for obstructions and capable of

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-13907649339600130032011-06-23T12:30:00.002Z2011-06-23T13:18:09.703Z

One of the nicest aspects of the recent Canary Wharf Motor Expo was the chance to drive some of the cars, as opposed to just staring, photographing or poking at them. Or indeed kicking them, as I witness two small boys doing to one of the Land Rover Defender exhibits. Having booked my slot to sample the Vauxhall Ampera, I wander over to the marble-lined lobby of One Canada Square in the hope of

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-51249750981094539272011-06-12T11:02:00.014Z2011-07-17T20:35:09.798Z

We engage mountain mode in our Vauxhall Ampera as we exit the roundabout, even though the only peaks in sight are the steel and glass cathedrals of London’s Docklands. I want to learn what the engine sounds and feels like and, left to its own devices, it would remain dormant for another seven miles or so, according to the dashboard display. My test drive isn’t going to last that long, so my

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-40771501115873548042011-05-29T00:33:00.010Z2011-06-16T17:46:09.946Z

According to Rolls-Royce, the gargantuan 71kWh battery nestling under the lengthy bonnet of its Phantom 102EX is the largest ever fitted to an electric car. If it was the biggest, it isn’t any more. Because the electric Range Rover I’m gently guiding across Tower Bridge boasts 75kWh – four more than the Roller and roughly three times the energy wielded by a fully charged Nissan Leaf. And all that

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-85613492176766292752011-05-18T13:10:00.004Z2011-05-30T09:12:28.754Z

I’ve seen quite a few Mini Coutrymans (Countrymen?) pootling about in London over the last few weeks, now that deliveries from the Austrian factory have begun in earnest. The cars will become a common sight, as the Countryman has quickly become Mini’s second-best selling model in the UK. In the first three months of 2011, according to the company’s own figures, almost a quarter of cars sold were

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-75707002250523168662011-05-13T16:42:00.002Z2011-05-13T16:54:08.074Z

Renault has finally announced UK prices for its innovative Twizy electric runabout thing, due to go on sale early in 2012. Two trim levels will be available initially – called Urban and Technic – and both are powered by the same 17bhp motor and 7kWh battery pack. Other trim levels – no doubt including a fully optioned luxury spec – are in the works. The basic Urban Twizy will cost from £6,690 on

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-41412561584122870332011-05-08T09:01:00.009Z2011-05-13T17:01:04.152Z

It will be fascinating to see how Jaguar’s C-X75 supercar progresses from show-car fantasy to roadgoing reality, now that the firm has said it will build the thing in collaboration with the Williams F1 team. Jaguar has said relatively little about the road car, but some things we know. It will still be a carbon-fibre-bodied, plug-in range-extended electric vehicle (Jaguar uses the acronym REEV),

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-71895914984780053182011-04-22T09:28:00.009Z2012-01-12T17:37:27.719Z

This is the first open-topped car I’ve reviewed for GreenMotor.co.uk and I have to say it feels pretty good. The sun is shining, it’s not too hot, I’m bowling along a dipping and twisting Somerset B-road, and the wind is tousling my hair in a pleasant but not overly blustery fashion. And to keep my conscience as clear as the skies, the trip meter is showing consumption firmly on the frugal side

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-10687664918738171592011-04-17T10:14:00.000Z2011-04-17T11:14:25.011Z

I recently grabbed a quick chat with Enno Fuchs, the man charged with launching the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera range-extended electric car onto the market in Europe. He’s a very likeable chap with an earthy turn of phrase that I doubt his PR people are too happy about. Here’s what we talked about: Me: Here in Europe we will be offered both the Chevrolet Volt and the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera. The Ampera

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-76659608792841850772011-04-04T05:54:00.004Z2012-01-12T17:38:28.350Z

As if to underscore its suitability for popping to the shops, Nissan chose a sprawling shopping mall in Milton Keynes to launch its Leaf electric car in the UK. As a result I can attest that Nissan’s baby is eerily quiet while making 4mph progress on a polished tile floor.Fortunately the Leaf can just about fit through a shopping centre’s double doors, so I was able to attempt slightly higher

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-28785856146658924822011-03-27T21:42:00.008Z2012-01-14T10:47:10.137Z

Today is census day in the UK, and anyone who has filled in the form will have noticed a question about cars, specifically asking about how many cars your household has access to. I neglected to mention the various press fleet cars I might get temporary access to this year, with any luck, and instead answered in the singular – we have the one Honda Civic hybrid parked on our drive. But it will be

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-67540579779806392112011-03-18T09:00:00.000Z2011-03-18T14:11:54.838Z

This morning, 40 long-faced electric car pioneers handed back their keys, as the final phase of the Mini E public trial came to a close. It seems like only a few months since I wrote about the recruitment drive, bemoaning the fact that my house sat awkwardly outside the trial zone and that my bank balance wasn’t up to the task of contributing a couple of grand to BMW’s EV development programme.

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-75614644930350766742011-03-10T07:45:00.002Z2011-04-26T06:38:10.225Z

Renault is showing off a couple of examples of its innovative Twizy electric mobility pod at the Geneva Motor Show. Changes since the production version was first unveiled in Paris last year are minor: it has sprouted sleeker door mirrors, for example. The more major difference was the appearance of two versions dubbed Urban and Technic, with the Urban edition noticeably lacking in the door

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-47599545926171328422011-03-03T17:56:00.010Z2011-11-30T14:24:03.499Z

Hideaki Watanabe is clearly a busy chap. As we shake hands in a small but cheerful little meeting room, tucked away inside Nissan’s Geneva motor show stand, he hands me two separate business cards. One bears Nissan and Infiniti logos and says, “Corporate Vice President, Global Zero Emission Business Unit”, while the other bears the swooping slashes of the Renault-Nissan Alliance and says, “

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-43064209124236145612011-03-02T19:09:00.014Z2011-03-03T22:38:16.132Z

At the Geneva Motor Show yesterday I met Dr Christian Kunstmann, who is the Assistant Chief Engineer for Electric Vehicles at General Motors Europe. Kunstmann has been deeply involved in the development of the Ampera, GM’s range-extended EV (which debuted in production form at the show), as well as various other electric car and fuel-cell projects.Here’s what we talked about in the hot and stuffy

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-42856887324979120682011-02-28T22:15:00.005Z2011-02-28T22:44:16.259Z

I’m off to the 2011 Geneva Motor Show rather early tomorrow morning. There’ll be lots of new metal to admire but the car I’m keenest to have a close peer and poke at is the Mini Rocketman.Yes it’s a daft name – no doubt meant to echo Clubman and Countryman, but instead it puts me in mind of a pompous, balding, has-been rock star. No doubt thoughts of Elton John were triggered during naming

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-11404508700708787822011-02-21T08:01:00.009Z2011-02-21T13:31:42.179Z

At the Geneva motor show next month, Volvo will unveil a pair of V60 Plug-in Hybrid show cars. They will be beautifully finished in satin white paint with slate-blue highlights, and will boast a blue and blonde leather interior with contrasting white stitching. I was lucky enough to view both show cars a month early, as they sat in Volvo’s Gothenburg race-car workshop waiting for their final bits

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-36063552397076135462011-02-10T00:14:00.010Z2011-02-17T21:31:35.957Z

Every second car on the roads around Gothenburg seems to be a Volvo – perhaps not surprising given that the iconically Swedish company is based here. The little silver Volvo I’m gingerly piloting around the ice-crusted roundabouts is out of the ordinary even here, though, given that it’s one of just 27 pre-production all-electric C30 hatchbacks.Take the standard C30 four-seater and chuck out the

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-2019211476168431492011-02-01T17:36:00.007Z2012-01-12T17:38:52.291Z

I do like to make my test drives as thorough as possible, but I hadn’t planned on making the slow-speed, congested-roads section of my Kia Venga EcoDynamics review quite so exhaustive.I set off an hour behind schedule, which meant I got snarled in the Friday-night, get-out-of-London exodus. It took me a full two hours to crawl the 11 miles from Hoxton to Chiswick, which gave me ample time to

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-82906923282640369482011-01-24T09:45:00.004Z2011-01-24T22:52:58.548Z

Some good news but also questions arose last week as Gordon Murray Design published crash test results for its micro city car design.The good news is that Murray’s new baby passed the statutory impact test – a 56km/h (35mph) run into a deformable barrier, overlapping the front of the car by 40 per cent of its width. This successful test comes despite the apparent absence of anywhere to hide a

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-15673778418729631012011-01-20T17:02:00.006Z2011-02-11T22:27:46.308Z

How low can you go? When it comes to carbon emissions, one brave family in Sweden is about to find out.The willing victims in the One Tonne Life experiment are the Lindell family from Hässelby near Stockholm in Sweden. Nils Lindell, his wife Alicja and their two teenage children Hannah and Jonathan, will each try to live a bearable life while cutting their carbon dioxide emissions by as much as

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-58488256473952405472011-01-16T12:06:00.013Z2011-01-20T07:42:26.110Z

There are something like 60 major options to choose from if you’re looking for a conventional new car that can avoid the London Congestion Charge in 2011. That’s counting UK models of car and their significant trim levels, and not counting electric cars like the upcoming Nissan Leaf or the already-here Mitsubishi i-Miev.I’ve assessed the single Audi A3 edition that wriggles under the required

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-879426082225073902011-01-05T17:53:00.017Z2011-01-18T14:02:53.753Z

There’s a surprisingly large selection of fossil-fuelled cars that are now exempt from the London Congestion Charge, assuming owners are willing to register and pay £10 to appear on the guest list.At least one model of all of the following cars will qualify:Audi A3, Citroen C3, Citroen DS3, Fiat 500, Fiat Punto, Ford Fiesta, Lexus CT 200h, Mini, Seat Ibiza, Seat Leon, Skoda Fabia, Smart ForTwo,

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-45106517187680619232010-12-21T15:34:00.005Z2011-01-18T14:04:43.081Z

Norwegian electric car maker Think has confirmed that its two-seat City EV will be available with optional 2+2 seating, although it seems we may have to wait still longer to see the car on sale in the UK with seats of any description. The new rear seats will no doubt prove a tight squeeze for adults, particularly for the feet, with the car’s battery pack sitting squarely under the front seats

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-21561697009671811192010-12-17T19:41:00.005Z2010-12-17T22:58:02.820Z

The government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles this week announced a list of nine green cars that will be eligible for its £5,000 grant from January next year.As I’ve noted before, the terms of the Plug-in Vehicle grant programme exclude small electric vehicles classified as quadricyles, so there’s no helpful cash for buyers of the Reva G-Wiz, Tazzari Zero or EuAuto MyCar, nor for those eyeing

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-40798937414525447182010-11-30T14:02:00.015Z2011-01-18T14:07:15.143Z

I’ve used a Mio satellite navigation unit before – albeit briefly – back in April. While I was impressed with the Mio Spirit 500, particularly with what it offered for the money, there were some areas that felt ripe for improvement.Even a quick poke around the newer Mio Navman Spirit 470 shows the engineering elves have been very busy.The most annoying shortcomings of the earlier model were

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-91726861345273940812010-11-29T13:37:00.007Z2011-01-18T14:08:17.513Z

In a significant vote of confidence in electric cars, the Nissan Leaf has today been named the 2011 European Car of the Year.The battery-powered Leaf beat off close competition from the sporty Alfa Romeo Giulietta and practical Vauxhall Meriva to win the accolade, racking up 257 points to the Alfa’s 248 and Meriva’s 244.Like the F1 title, the Car of the Year contest is a war won on points, with

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-31982759158503278232010-11-06T22:01:00.063Z2010-11-27T18:07:22.657Z

I went along to the Future Car Challenge on Saturday morning, to watch the cars cross the finish line outside the Anthanaeum Club, just off London’s Pall Mall. The cars had driven from Brighton to London, following the same route as the Veteran Car London to Brighton run, but running in the opposite direction and a day beforehand. And hopefully with fewer breakdowns.Lots of the veteran cars were

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-52858523658271927432010-11-03T16:58:00.015Z2010-11-13T16:03:51.673Z

“It’s a myth that electric cars don’t need gears,” says Steve Nicholls, the man in charge of the Limo Green project at Jaguar. It’s no surprise to learn, therefore, that there are two ratios available in the very stylish Limo Green mule I’m sitting in – a range-extended electric car built around the rakish aluminium body of a Jaguar XJ saloon.Like the better known Chevrolet Volt, Limo Green is an

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-18488367689041147622010-10-19T11:21:00.003Z2010-10-19T11:40:01.220Z

I spent quite a while last week reading a patent entitled “Output Split Electrically-Variable Transmission with Electric Propulsion Using One or Two Motors”. While a poor choice of bedtime reading it is fascinating if you’re interested in how the Chevrolet Volt and its Vauxhall/Opel Ampera siblings actually function. You will probably need an engineering education to understand the patent.

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-68716206156652235042010-10-10T21:38:00.010Z2010-11-15T01:20:26.256Z

As you may know, electric cars are able to offer maximum torque from a standstill. While this may be helpful if you want to make a bank-robber’s getaway, it’s not ideal if your aim is to drive smoothly and easily around town in a small and nippy commuter car. Hence, I’m informed, the motor controller in the Think City EV has been designed to control the flow of energy from battery to wheels in a

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-40934389612969203772010-10-02T13:32:00.025Z2010-10-04T22:00:27.653Z

The Paris Motor Show, which opened to the public today, is awash with green cars. Frugal diesels, electric concepts and hybrids abound.While some may argue that Jaguar’s C-X75 turbine-powered hybrid supercar is the star of the show, its over-the-top nature left me cold. I was more interested in more modest concepts with much greater relevance to the crowded streets of reality.Here are my stars of

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-64760246281155465622010-09-30T08:41:00.005Z2010-12-22T01:33:12.777Z

This is the production version of Renault’s radical Twizy ZE electric city car, on show today at the Paris Motor Show.The car – actually a quadricycle – has changed somewhat since the earlier prototypes, but not as much as you might have expected. It’s still tiny, it’s still a tandem two-seater, and it still looks like nothing else on the road. It also still boasts Lamborghini-style lift-up

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-193029060519558982010-09-19T11:30:00.010Z2012-01-12T17:39:14.084Z

Down by the stubby gear selector in the Toyota Auris Hybrid Synergy Drive you’ll find a row of buttons marked EV, ECO Mode and PWR Mode. Prodding one will change the way this green car drives, and prodding it again will switch back into normal mode. Evidently normal doesn’t merit a button of its own, perhaps because it’s the state in which the car wakes up, no matter what mood you left it in at

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-85260094873239854422010-09-18T09:53:00.005Z2010-09-18T10:26:29.555Z

I was lucky enough to grab a few moments with car designer, engineer, entrepreneur, professor and very tall person Gordon Murray at this week’s LCV2010 conference.Here’s a rough transcript of our conversation – it’s based on my hastily scribbled notes that I then typed up immediately afterwards. Some of the dialogue is verbatim, some paraphrased, but the gist is accurate. I wrote a proper article

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-78162388543454453602010-09-12T19:32:00.015Z2010-09-13T09:53:32.509Z

This afternoon a bunch of electric cars and motorcycles, plus assorted Segways, bikes and the odd skateboard, could be found speeding silently down The Mall in London, a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace.There were plenty of impressive machines to peer at, plus the odd celeb to spot. Here’s a small selection of my snaps from the Start Eco Car Spectacular.There were several Tesla roadsters

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-85039213918868412022010-09-11T14:10:00.008Z2010-09-13T21:29:10.382Z

Peugeot has settled on a price for its iOn electric car, which is of course a rebadged and reupholstered version of Mitsubishi’s i-Miev.Rather than sell the iOn, with all the complications over uncertain residuals and finger-in-the-air estimates of battery life, Peugeot plans to offer only a lease option when it begins shipments at the end of this year.For £498 per month (including VAT at the

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-19666025567638889422010-09-05T01:12:00.008Z2012-01-12T17:39:52.891Z

I’m behind the wheel of Mini’s new Countryman soft-roader and all I can see is blue sky. The rutted stretch of bare earth I’m doggedly clambering up must be at least forty degrees from the flat. The diesel engine purrs quietly at 1,800rpm as I crest the rise, bounce for a few metres along the ridge and then turn sharply right to plunge back down the slope. There’s no hill descent mode so it’s a

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-59615165375109289592010-08-19T20:14:00.007Z2010-08-20T12:10:16.514Z

Unsurprisingly, Mitsubishi has been forced to reduce the list price of its i-Miev electric car in the UK, even before it’s delivered its first sale. Equally naturally, it has homed in on £23,990 after rebates, a price that brings exact parity with its arch rival, the Nissan Leaf.Rivalry is evidently what Mitsubishi is feeling, rather than some sort of brotherly love towards a fellow pioneer. In

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-63602207428465177362010-08-14T17:29:00.004Z2010-08-14T17:50:33.118Z

Yesterday’s NPR Science Friday radio debate featured Mark Perry, director of product planning from Nissan North America, Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the Chevrolet Volt, and Phil Ross, senior editor at IEEE Spectrum - and a battery car sceptic.The debate aired on Friday the 13th: was it unlucky for someone? Give it a listen.

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-40820565825010824052010-08-01T15:36:00.015Z2011-03-25T22:56:37.534Z

I glance momentarily down at the digital speedometer and see a number I’m not expecting. And given that I’ve no wish to become the first person to have his collar felt for speeding in a Nissan Leaf, I lift off and let the numbers tumble down to something legal.Does Nissan’s new electric car have the legs for real roads? Absolutely, as demonstrated by my unplanned experience of 140km/h (about

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-27267874410271707162010-07-22T22:01:00.008Z2010-07-26T09:00:15.850Z

This is the second in a series of posts about our Honda Civic Hybrid, which we’ve been running since September last year. In our first post we looked a little at car finance – particularly at the all-important questions of value for money and depreciation. This post is more in the same fiscal vein.Fuel is probably the next most obvious cost, given that you have to stare at the numbers reeling

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-56755987464853224262010-07-15T23:33:00.003Z2010-07-16T19:58:25.313Z

Over dinner, hosted by Volvo in the City of London, the conversation turns to electric cars. “Aren’t they a bit soulless?” asks one of our fellow diners. “No gears to change, no involvement? Just press and go?” There’s a murmur of agreement – but not from those around the table who’ve actually driven one.Unless you’ve driven an EV, it’s hard to imagine exactly how involving the experience can be.

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-57779238599951159002010-07-10T22:10:00.007Z2010-07-17T11:10:14.633Z

“No, no, go to the head of the queue,” insists our instructor, gesticulating firmly up the narrowing triangle of sliproad we’ve been trying to leave, to join the densely packed traffic on our left. We had assumed that our first eco-driving lesson was going to teach us how to be more considerate drivers, but instead we’re being taught techniques that would make a minicab driver blush. We do as we’

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-34275096638339203622010-06-29T22:20:00.008Z2010-08-03T16:00:11.851Z

Here are a collection of unsorted factoids learned during our recent visit to Paris to learn about Renault’s upcoming electric cars and various other green motoring projects.Quick-drop battery swap stations won’t be cripplingly expensive to set up, because they’ll only need to hold 10 batteries, with each battery costing about €8,000 to €9,000. Why so few? Using three-phase AC electricity it will

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-45165186356759877042010-06-26T15:38:00.011Z2010-07-02T13:06:13.845Z

It’s a sizzling summer’s day on the south-west outskirts of Paris. The traffic is unmistakeably Parisian, a clotted, cacophonous mayhem of diesel-dusted Renaults, Citroëns, Peugeots and Piaggios. We take the crowded Pont de Sèvres up and over the Seine and as a chauffeur-driven Citroën C6 draws alongside for a moment its cool, pin-striped passenger swivels round in his seat to have a closer look

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-34879298092797095452010-06-20T20:48:00.001Z2010-06-20T19:42:13.784Z

With a bit of luck we’ll be driving the Renault Fluence ZE electric car in Paris in the coming week. We were wondering, in advance, how the Fluence might stack up against the Nissan Leaf (which we hope to drive later this year, having enjoyed a couple of brief stints in two Leaf mules).Although Leaf and Fluence share a similar battery, made up of identical flat-laminate cells, they use different

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-623651587984520662010-06-05T18:55:00.007Z2010-07-02T13:06:35.212Z

Mini, BMW-owned maker of small cars for the fashionable, has taken the drive for better fuel economy as seriously as any other maker. It has a programme in place called Minimalism, which is broadly equivalent to its parent maker’s better-known EfficientDynamics scheme. Minimalism employs a range of miserly techniques including automatic engine stop-start, a shift indicator to encourage the driver

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-49583177797542288372010-06-01T17:11:00.010Z2010-06-01T22:00:58.158Z

The sleek, embossed press pack for Honda’s CR-Z pocket-sized sports hybrid has been as lovingly designed as the car, although we were a bit surprised to find it presented in the form of a pop-up book.Pop-up is, after all, a literary format usually reserved for innocent, wide-eyed children, rather than cynical, bleary-eyed hacks.Following hot on the heels of Smart’s pull-the-tag activity book, we

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-44422647436130196272010-05-28T18:56:00.012Z2010-11-27T14:28:01.810Z

It’s silly, I know, but there’s a tangible sense of relief in the air as I’m handed the key to the pert little CR-Z, Honda’s new 2+2 sports hybrid hatchback coupé thing. Relief rather than anticipation because I’m pathetically delighted to see a key that folds in on itself, in the modern style. By contrast the old-fashioned keys to Honda’s other hybrids – the Insight hatch and Civic saloon – are

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-49885876912705393132010-05-24T22:21:00.009Z2010-05-24T22:56:03.042Z

Since September 2009 we have been running a Honda Civic Hybrid. The hybrid mechanicals are, of course, housed in the frumpy four-door saloon body, ugly sibling to the pointy Civic hatch. So it’s not exactly a looker but it is comfortable enough, and besides it was chosen for its legs rather than its face.We think the Civic Hybrid makes great financial sense as low-CO2 transport, more so than many

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-71523871694295114202010-05-17T20:25:00.006Z2010-09-11T14:25:34.396Z

If you were ever in any doubt about which were the most important target markets for the upcoming Nissan Leaf electric car, here’s a simple list. The three most important markets are the US of A, America, and the United States.How else to explain a pricing strategy that makes the car more expensive in Europe after government subsidies than the US version is before tax rebates.Nissan today

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-72251699323731360942010-05-06T22:30:00.005Z2010-05-11T17:13:36.025Z

City-car maker Smart kindly sent us a spiral-bound book in the post today, although we’re not exactly sure what it’s supposed to be for.It could possibly be some sort of brochure for the ForTwo Brabus Tailor Made, a version of the little car that can be customised inside and out with a range of premium materials and colourful paints – for those who are happy to spend the wrong side of £20,000 on

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-63622509394847581652010-04-30T17:06:00.000Z2010-04-30T17:06:46.153Z

The rising cost of fuel is encouraging more UK motorists to choose hybrids and low-CO2 cars, according to the latest statistics from the Department for Transport.The market for new cars has fallen steeply since 2007, when 2.4 million cars where registered for the first time, to just under 2 million sales in 2009 – a figure propped up substantially by the recently-closed scrappage scheme. But

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-55743851516839539482010-04-27T19:56:00.006Z2010-04-27T20:12:37.888Z

Hats off to Autocar for once again getting the inside line on Gordon Murray’s much-anticipated T25 city car. Yesterday it released a superb spy shot of a matt-black T25 on the prowl in darkest Surrey. We suspect little real spying was involved – we sense instead some mutually beneficial murmuring between Murray’s PR flacks and Autocar’s hacks, but nonetheless we are delighted to finally clap eyes

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-9823629797589357512010-04-19T20:24:00.010Z2010-08-22T16:19:36.454Z

Update: Since this post about the Leaf prototype was written, we’ve driven the real thing on UK roads. Read our review of the Nissan Leaf.As test drives go, this has to be our shortest yet. Laid out on the tarmac outside The O2’s dome is a twisty course of cones which must be all of 800m in length, and we’re allowed one lap behind the wheel, plus one in the passenger seat and one in the back. It’

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-29733724897962709182010-04-12T22:41:00.010Z2010-07-27T13:13:55.950Z

We like satellite navigation devices, and not just because they are inherently a good idea for greener drivers. They all of course cut fuel use by helping to avoid wrong turns - sending you via an accurate and therefore hopefully less wasteful route. But more importantly they spell an end to fraught miles spent arguing with the other half over the need to stop and ask weird-looking strangers for

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-85905421391693497412010-03-27T23:48:00.005Z2010-09-11T14:26:07.831Z

Mitsubishi announced the retail price of its i-Miev electric car this week, setting the bar at an astonishing £38,699 including VAT. This is substantially more than most were expecting – ourselves included – and means that even after the government subsidy of £5,000 from January next year, the compact, four-seat electric kei-car will still cost almost £34,000 before options.Some will clearly view

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14206303.post-88065179177944387882010-03-19T19:01:00.007Z2010-12-25T20:38:20.948Z

Five minutes into our test drive of the Kia Ceed 2 EcoDynamics, and we think for a moment that we’ve stalled. Evidently we have cloth for brains because the whole purpose of our test is to assess the Intelligent Stop-and-Go facility (ISG) that is responsible for the lifeless engine. Thankfully a simple dip of the clutch is all that’s required to get things moving again.Just like the stop-start

GreenMotorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09864549019933181959noreply@blogger.com2