Thinking about a greener car

It is interesting to note that a signficant amount of the greenhouse gas emissions of the entire country comes from simply car travel: noticeably over 10% does.

Therefore if you have a type of car that is better for the environment, and enough people do the same, then proportionately the impact on the environment will be lessened, so it is worth considering.

The more efficient the car the better, because this means taht they use less fuel and therefore produce fewer emissions pro rata. Other benefits are that the rate of road tax is lower, which is good for your pocket too.

There are various tables published in car magazines that will go through the relative efficiencies of various cars so that you can see which have better engines than others, in terms of fuel efficiency, so these are definitely worth taking a look at.

There are also various fuel databases that will tell you all sorts of stats such as CO2, or carbon dioxide emissions, the significance here being that CO2 is a significant greenhouse gas which helps to warm the planet.

The newer the car you buy then, to some extent, it is more likely to be greener than in the past because standards are changing all the time and there are Euro standards in place that new cars have to meet on emissions. The Euro number goes up to 5, and the higher the number as a rule of thumb, the cleaner the car, so a 5 rated car is rated as very clean and green.

Related Articles...

driving theory test
What causes accidents: tailgating
Driving too close to a vehicle is dangerous for the very simple reason that you have too little time to react should something unexpected happen. And when you consider how many road journeys there...

Using the foot controls in an automatic
When driving an automatic car, there is one less pedal to think about: there is no clutch pedal so the ABC of accelerator, brake, clutch becomes instead simply accelerator and brake. That's...

Understanding illuminated signals on motorways
The location of the signs and signals that you see on motorway itself tells you some information: who it applies to. Signs at the edge of the road will apply to all drivers, whilst those that...

Tips on preventing car crime
It is an obvious statement that nobody wants their car to be broken into or have items stolen from their car. Yet despite this some drivers take little care in discouraging theft. There are...

Things to look for when checking tyre condition
The tyres are extremely important elements of the car, yet many people do not think much about them when checking that their vehicle is roadworthy. However, in addition to checking the amount...

What to do at a roundabout
Roundabouts come in all shapes and sizes, but the basic rules that govern roundabouts are simple. However that doesn't stop people interpreting the rules and indicating and lines in all sorts...

What to do if you breakdown at a level crossing
Driving is potentially dangerous, but it is important not to worry about things that could happen when driving but at the same time you should know what to do in the unlikely event that something...

What different cats eyes mean
There are market studs, which are usually referred to as multi-coloured studs or even more usually as cats eyes, along certain areas of motorways and optionally on other parts of motorways...

The ABC of dealing with casualties
The ABC refers to how to treat casualties if you are involved in an accident but not injured, or indeed if you are at the scene where an accident occurs. The A refers to the word airway. This...

Your driving licence: getting it back
As the New Drivers Act article outlines, if you get six penalty points or more in the first two years of having a licence, then it is revoked and you have to retake both tests: the theory and the...


Back to home page of driving theory test questions