30/05/08

Environmentally-friendly cars: the ADAC rating

The German AA has 'marked' 7 hundred cars according to their CO2 emission levels

Carmakers’ attention on sustainable mobility is getting better. That is confirmed by the EcoTest 2008 carried out by the ADAC, the influential German car club that examines 7 hundred vehicles and ranks them according to the lowest amount of CO2 emissions by setting points (from 0 to 90) which make the cars fit into categories ranging from one to five stars. This year’s report shows that over 20 cars have improved their ranking and some of them have moved to a higher category.

The Toyota Prius’s performance has been very satisfactory: the car got 89/90 marks. Once again the Japanese hybrid is leading the EcoTest parade and has come close to the five-star position. Standing in the same category but with fewer points are the 2.4 Bi-Fuel CNG Momentum Volvo V70 (87 points), the Honda Civic (83 points) and the Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion (DPF) (82 points). Satisfactory results also for the BMW 530i, the Mazda 6,1.8 and the Skoda Octavia 1.6 FSI, all of the three ranking at 80 points and therefore fitting into the four-star category.

A step forward has been made by the Opel Zafira, the 1.7 CTDI edition (DPF), which has achieved the three-star category, while the previous model, equipped with a 2.2 DTI engine, had been given just one star last year. Something similar has also occurred to the Peugeot 307 and the Citroen C3; actually, unlike 2007, both of them have gained one more star.

Among the models lagging behind, there is the new Renault Clio, which, unlike its previous version, has lost six points. Also the Honda 2.2 i-CTDi sports Accord has had a downturn, from the fourth to the third category.

The highest Italian position has been obtained by the Alfa Romeo 1.9 16V Q2 JTDM Progression (DPF) which has gained 74 points, while the Alfa Romeo 1.9 16V JTDM 159 Distinctive (DPF) has got 79. Among the leading Fiat cars there is the 1.2 8V Natural Power Panda Panda with 72 points and Lancia’s best performance is the Ypsilon’s, the 1.4 16V Oro version (65 points).