Low Petrol Consumption Cars | Choosing A green Car In South Africa

Low Petrol Consumption Cars - Choosing A Green Car In South Africa

Is the Toyota Prius as green as it seems?

When I was doing some homework a couple of years ago when looking for a new, environmentally friendly, low fuel consumption car, I asked some hard questions:

What cars (available in South Africa) had low CO2 emissions?
What cars were light in weight?
What cars had the lowest fuel consumption?
What cars had good reliability?
What cars had innovative new technology?
What came out well in cost, maintenance and running?
Which cars had a good rap in motoring journals and personal write-ups?

After doing some homework I ended up with a shortlist of five cars.

The Renault Clio 1500 diesel,
the Citroen C2 1400 diesel,
the Toyota Prius 1500 electric hybrid motor,
the VW Polo 1400 diesel
and the Fiat Punto 1300 Multijet diesel.

All of these cars had excellent fuel economy compared to the rest of the market. Their environmental footprint was acceptable to me. So the weeding out started.

First to go was the Toyota Prius. At almost a quarter of a million Rands for a car, when financing was included, it was almost double the price of the

others. It may be marginally cheaper to run as its fuel consumption was ever so slightly lower than the rest. But then, given that it would have to be serviced by specialist technicians, this cost saving would soon be offset. It also has awful road manners, according to a clip I picked up on YouTube. I do like a car that can handle and this one just does not cut the custard. So, out with the Prius, as nice as the concept is. When it’s refined and mass produced I may reconsider. The solar powered Prius is another step forward, but its still handles like a dog?

Then there was the Polo 1400 diesel. Frankly it was just plain unsexy, its motor is fairly old diesel technology that is a bit thirsty compared to the rest of the pack, except the Renault. While it is a VW and hence fairly good on price for spares it just did not hack it for me. Aus mit der Volkswaggon. Aus!

Then the two Frenchies, the Renault and the Citroen. I liked them both but rejected the Renault for its poor fuel consumption compared to the Citroen, also to be laid at the door of slightly older diesel technology. Nice size, clever design but a bit heavy – like the Prius – and also notoriously expensive parts locally.

The Citroen? Liked its styling, very nice. Good motor but the fundis (that’s an expert in African lingo mate!) and long term owners did not rate its reliability as brilliant. It was light, but its spares came out pretty steep, so its not just a function of servicing but also the insurance premiums leap up if the spares basket is expensive. A useful tool to measure spares costs in South Africa is the now well-established Kinsey Reports.

Then there was the Fiat Punto, which has since been upgraded to the Fiat Grande Punto. Its price was competitive. Its fuel consumption was excellent due to its modern and award winning new multijet turbo diesel engine, as was its CO2 footprint, coming in around the same as the Citroen and below anything else except the Prius, which cheats by using electricity some of the time!

It handles pretty well and is nippy given the size of its engine. Its not a racing car but its Italian breeding shows. The reviewers I picked up on did not have a bad word for the reliability of the little car. The Fiat Punto looks good but is nothing to rave about – all of these little cars look increasingly alike!

I don’t know if I would consider it worthwhile to upgrade to a Fiat Grande Punto. Sure the larger version is a nicer looking car, but who the hell cares what a car looks like? The real point is that the Grande Punto is quite a bit larger and this has affected the fuel consumption of the car. If I was in the market for a new car now I may choose the Fiat Grande Punto but the point remains moot.

So my South African choice is the Fiat Punto. After having the car for almost two years I regularly get city consumption figures of less than 5 liters per 100 kilos and open road consumption of yet less. Services are not too expensive and the car has proven reliable and up to African driving conditions.

All in all I reckon that this little diesel comes out better in its environmental footprint than the much-touted Prius. There are those who reckon the Prius’ green cred is so much greenwash, and even the UK advertising standards authority told them to withdraw their ad. Toyota also sells a heap of other cars and SUVs that are anything but green, including their Land Cruisers, the latest which sports V8 diesel and petrol engines. It really pisses me off to see these giants being driven around town as commuter cars.

On the other hand Fiat makes small, sexy cars.

Sure, there is no such thing as a green car, no matter how hard you look. Sure it would be better for the world if we could all rely on public transport. But given the realities (there is absolutely no public transport where I live) and the alternatives (fetching the kids from school on a bicycle?), we must try to use the best options we can, whenever we can. Share lifts, drive the most fuel efficient car you can and keep it in good shape – tyre pressures correct and well serviced.

Our little Fiat Punto fits the bill for us – it was a counterintuitive choice but it has proven correct. And as for those who slate diesel cars, I have one thing to say – get a life, petrolheads!

Coming soon – a sticker for you to paste on SUVs and oversized 4X4s being used as runabouts!

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