Volvo Snags What Car? Green Car Award
What Car? magazine’s award for the year’s greenest car goes to the Volvo S40 DRIVe. The British magazine picked the diesel because its CO2 emissions are basically the same as a second generation Prius, but it’s considerably more fun to drive. The car is not available in the States, and the Honda Insight and 3-gen Prius were not available across the pond in time for eligibility. Still, it makes one wonder: Is the hybrid really the way to save the planet. I’ve driven both the S40 (regular gas) and the Insight, and, well, it’s like comparing apples and ice cream. If I could get all my vitamins in a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s, I’d never hear a crunch again, know what I mean?
The Volvo puts out 104 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Toyota is claiming the 2010 Prius puts out 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer. For comparison sake, that’s half of what an Audi A8 emits.
More by Michael Martineck
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Is Volvo selling any vehicle in the US that gets 25 mpg in the real world without a downhill slope and a tailwind?
I think the DRIVe concept volvo came up with is an excellent shortcut to maximum efficiency. other companies have similar solution like the ford Focus Eco for instance and many other manufacturers would be able to offer even more efficient models if they put their minds to it. i think fitting a regular toyota yaris with a minuscule engine, and lightweight construction, plus low resistance tires plus a an aero kit will make it a much more efficient car than the prius. i think Hybrids are a good idea, but they are not The IDEA, i stand strong by saying the future belongs to the electric car, once they crack the battery technology...there's only one snag, by the time they do crack the tech, there will be so much toxic waste that even if the whole world switched to the prius yesterday, it wont be enough to counter....
Havig driven the S40 with a more powerful engine than that I am not really all that sure that it is much more fun than the Prius to drive. How someone can take the second generation Focus platform and dumb down the handling so much is slightly beyond me.