Top 10 Luxury Cars That Pollute the Least

[Bartek S.]

Top 10 Luxury Cars That Pollute the Least - (with annual tons of greenhouse-gas emissions; lower is better)
10. Infiniti G37 Coupe - Carbon Footprint: 9.2 annual tons
9. (tie) Mercedes-Benz C300 - Carbon Footprint: 8.7 annual tons
9. (tie) BMW 528i - Carbon Footprint: 8.7 annual tons
8. (tie) Volvo S60 - Carbon Footprint: 8.3 annual tons
8. (tie) Lincoln MKZ - Carbon Footprint: 8.3 annual tons
8. (tie) Lexus ES 350/GS 350 - Carbon Footprint: 8.3 annual tons
8. (tie) BMW 128i; BMW 328i; BMW Z4 3.0si - Carbon Footprint: 8.3 annual tons
7. (tie) Volvo C30 T5 - Carbon Footprint: 8.0 annual tons
7. (tie) Volvo S40 2.4i/V50 2.4i - Carbon Footprint: 8.0 annual tons
7. (tie) Porsche Boxster/Cayman - Carbon Footprint: 8.0 annual tons
6. (tie) Lexus IS 250 - Carbon Footprint: 7.7 annual tons
6. (tie) Audi A4 2.0T - Carbon Footprint: 7.7 annual tons
5. Audi A3 - Carbon Footprint: 7.3 annual tons
4. Audi TT - Carbon Footprint: 7.1 annual tons
3. Lexus LS 600h L - Carbon Footprint: 8.7 annual tons
2. Lexus GS 450h - Carbon Footprint: 8.0 annual tons
1. Lexus RX 400h - Carbon Footprint: 7.3 annual tons
http://www.forbesautos.com/advice/toptens/least-polluting-luxury-cars-slideshow.html?partner=egc

 

[Monster]

So why is the RX400h (7.3 tons) on top while the TT is 4th (7.1 tones)?

 

[MikeJ]

Lexus hybrids are the best even though they pollute more than many others???

 

[coolraoul]

Yeah honestly I don't get it. The TT should be the first here.

 

[cawimmer430]

I hate these stupid lists that give some factory claim from the manufacturer. Rather, the cars should be driven and tested and their emissions measured.

I absolutely despise the overrated and overhyped Lexus LS600h. Someone remind me how an overweight and overpowered large car is supposed to be "green"?

Plus this car has never even gotten the fuel economy figures Lexus claims for it - which means it will release more emissions than Lexus claims it does.

Somehow I have a feeling that many automotive publications are getting paid off by Lexus and their hybrid marketing BS...

 

[Alwing]

So why is the RX400h (7.3 tons) on top while the TT is 4th (7.1 tones)?

If you go to the website, there's additional category in which they can score points, next to the "carbon footprint" there's also "air pollution score".
All three hybrid Lexus cars scored a 9 where as all the others scored just a 7 in the "air pollution" category which explains the rankorder.

 

[coolraoul]

And what about "super-polluting battery production", or "what can I do with my used super-polluting batteries"?

Does "mind-polluting marketing BS" count in, too? (sorry, couldn't resist)...

 

[Deleted member 182]

Plus this car has never even gotten the fuel economy figures Lexus claims for it - which means it will release more emissions than Lexus claims it does.

Fuel economy doesn't directly correlate with emissions.

 

[coolraoul]

Well, yes it does. Of course emissions depend from the motor. But for the same motor, if you need more fuel you will pollute more.

The more fuel you burn, the more you pollute. The difference is in the technology behind the motor, that makes a motor more or less "environment-friendly", but for the same motor if it needs more fuel it pollutes more. Samewise, if you push your motor harder, you'll pollute more.

Thing is, in a hybrid, the motor is helped by the electricic motor, so in fact the petrol engine always is at the best possible rpm given the speed you want, that's part of what makes it more "green", along with all the energy-recovering, start-stop and other stuff. On the other side it's heavier because of the batteries.

So even if an hybrid needs more fuel than another car, it still should pollute less. But the margin may not be as big as in the ads, because the given emission are linked to the given consumption, and if one increase the other too.

 

[Monster]

And what about "super-polluting battery production", or "what can I do with my used super-polluting batteries"?

Does "mind-polluting marketing BS" count in, too? (sorry, couldn't resist)...

I have been waiting for the right time to post this interview of an RX400h driver, and now it is the time.

http://imageshack.us

January 29, 2008

Renya Xydis, hairstylist

What was your first car?
The first car I had was a $200 rust bucket. It was a Ford Falcon. It was my brother-in-law's old, old rusty car and we just drove it all around Australia. It went to Queensland, Melbourne, Bourke, just to go away with friends and stuff like that, Seven Mile Beach and everywhere. We had fun in it. We had it just before it was about to get its rego again and it wouldn't have gotten rego, so after about eight months it had to go. It had to die.

What are you driving now?
The Lexus RX 400, the hybrid. I love it. It's environmentally friendly, so we're all happy about that. I drive a lot - back and forth to work - and I do a lot of photo shoots, so I'm driving everywhere. I used to put petrol in my car weekly and with the hybrid I only put it in every 3 1/2 weeks, so it's economically amazing. It makes you want to drive slower. You don't really want to drive fast in this car because you're just wasting the petrol.

What's your ideal car?
Exactly what I have now because I'm a mother of two kids and I'm a freelance editorial stylist, which means I go to photo shoots and I have to do their hair wherever I am. You don't go to one location every day. You could be down at the Royal National Park doing a shoot with three models or you could be at a studio doing a shoot with one model. It's like my office as well. In the back of the car I have all my wigs, my hairpieces and my blow dryers. It's also great for family days when all of us fit in the car together, which is great.

What's your favourite bumper sticker?
I'm not a really big bumper sticker girl but I love it when I see the one that says, 'Drive Slow, I'm Pregnant' and a man's driving the car. I think that's quite funny.

What's your pet road peeve?
Drivers who cut in front of you, when they don't put their blinkers on. There's lots of things. I could go on and on and on - people that drive fast around schools and when there's no respect on the road and you could actually hurt someone, that's not cool.

Drive Life - Life & Style Home - theage.com.au


1st of all , why does she have to say "the hybrid" right after saying "Lexus RX400" ?? Guess she is like many other Lexus hybrid drivers out there who want other people to know they own and drive around in a hybrid car.

2nd of all, so she doesn't feel like driving fast in "this car" "because you're just wasting the petrol". humm.......i sense a large dose of self-righteousness right there.

Sadly for this RX400h owner, she fail to realise that the most effective way for her to save the environment is to drive less, or at least get a smaller car. What is the point if the RX 400h consumes half as much petrol and emit half the pollution than a normal car if she drives twice as much as an average driver?

3rd of all. When she speak of "no respect on the road and you could actually hurt someone, that's not cool" Driving a SUV in the city and blocking the vision of other drivers are dangerous and "not cool".

 

[Merc1]

Oh my...I won't comment here.

M

 

[Deleted member 182]

So even if an hybrid needs more fuel than another car, it still should pollute less. But the margin may not be as big as in the ads, because the given emission are linked to the given consumption, and if one increase the other too.

Well there you go, you said it yourself too.

Finnish car magazine had test of enviromental cars. They tested the Prius and a bunch of small diesels (e.g. Peugeot 308 1.6 HDi). Prius had 5,43 l/100km consumption, Peugeot had 4,82 l/100km. Still Prius and Peugeot had the same CO2, which was 128 g/km.

What I'm trying to say is that fuel consumption and CO2 don't have a 100 % correlation between each other. This is, of course, when comparing different vehicels.

Ps. Prius won the Eco Car 2008 comparison in that mag.

 

[coolraoul]

Yeah that is clear. Some motors just burns fuel in a more clean way. They will pollute less with the same consumption. Today BMW makes cleaner motors than many others, for instance.

However, a car that is given by the carmaker to, say 5L/100 and 120g/km but that in fact needs 6L/100 will pollute more than 120g/KM.

So the figures given by Toyota and Lexus for the hybrids seems to be quite wrong in normal conditions, which means that they pollute more than what they say. But still less than a conventional car (I think at last). Which could be counterbalanced by the polluting batteries...