Top 10 Low Carbon Footprint Four-Door Sedans
Editor’s Note: John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report. His new book, Save Gas, Save the Planet, will be published March 25, 2009.
Four-door sedans continue to be popular vehicles for fleets and individuals because they offer the right amount of space for 4 or 5 passengers and enough cargo space for a taxi. With reduced greenhouse gas emissions becoming a priority for fleet managers and millions of conscientious consumers, finding new sedans that fit the bill can be confusing.
The following 10 four-door sedans have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per mile of any vehicles available for volume commercial sale in 2009. In many cases, they also have the best fuel economy. Most are already selling in quantity. In a few cases, I am betting that the manufacturer will sell 1,000 of them to fleets by the end of 2009.
Buying these clean cars often gives fleets tax breaks and special funding opportunities.
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The Top 10 Low Carbon Footprint Four-Doors listed from lowest to highest in terms of their carbon footprint:
- Toyota Prius
- Honda Insight
- Honda Civic Hybrid
- Toyota Camry CNG Hybrid
- Ford Fusion Hybrid
- Nissan Altima Hybrid
- Honda Civic CNG
- Toyota Camry Hybrid
- Toyota Yaris
- Chevrolet Aveo
The Toyota Prius continues to lead the four-door sedan field in fuel economy and lowest lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. This perennial favorite midsize is lowest on the list with 4 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for the EPA annual driving cycle; combined fuel economy is 46 mpg. Yes, 4 tons of CO2e is a lot; by comparison the 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago rates at 18.3 tons and only gets 10 mpg. Sorry fleet managers, you’ll need to take that Lamborghini out of the budget. Watch for new announcements from Toyota at the Detroit and Chicago Auto Shows, including a solar roof option to power accessories and thereby boost mileage. Prius
The new Honda Insight four-door sedan with an Ecological Drive Assist System is expected to be priced for thousands less than the Prius. Honda will start selling the Insight in North America in spring 2009. Honda is setting expectations that mileage will be similar to the Honda Civic Hybrid. Honda Insight
The Honda Civic Hybrid compact rates at 4.4 tons of CO2e for the EPA annual driving cycle and a combined 42 mpg. Civic Hybrid
The Toyota Camry CNG Hybrid was presented to me as a concept car at the LA Auto Show. Should gas prices start climbing as summer approaches, then Clean Fleet Report is betting that Toyota will make this available to fleets. A similar move happened 10 years ago in 1999 when Toyota marketed a CNG Camry to fleet customers in California. Clean Fleet Report makes an unofficial estimate that emissions will be 4.6 tons of CO2e for the EPA annual driving cycle, based on achieving 32 mpg combined. Camry CNG Hybrid
The Volkswagen Jetta almost made the list. VW delivers very good freeway mileage for this turbodiesel which outperforms many hybrids. This VW rates at 6.2 tons of equivalent for the EPA annual driving cycle and a combined 34 mpg with a 6-speed shift. The mileage is equally good in the SportsWagen version, and almost as good with an automatic transmission.
Clean Fleet Report with discussion of other vehicles and emission calculations.
If you are planning to buy any four-door sedans, this list may be a good starting point. The focus is on low CO2e emissions and likely commercial availability. Some will need larger sedans, while others will need affordable small cars, including small station wagons and two-doors which are not part of the list. Executives and sales managers that once required luxury sedans may now insist on one of the green alternatives in the Clean Fleet Report Top 10 Low Carbon Footprint Four-Door Sedans for 2009.
Image Credit: John Addison
It’s satisfying to see so many options available in the hybrid arena. Giving consumers choice will only serve to increase interest in this category and create a sense of legitimacy.
You didn’t include the Jetta in the top ten. And you stopped reporting on the performance in regard to the emissions and mileage when you reached the American manufacturer’s vehicles. Why? for both.
I still have to wonder if keeping your current car is the greener thing to do. Particularly if your current car is reasonably fuel efficient (i.e. not a big SUV/truck).
I remember reading somewhere that it takes approximately the equivalent of 500 gallons of gasoline to build a new car (and I would bet a hybrid would consume even more for the batteries and electric engine…but I digress).
Assuming that’s true, let’s do some calculations. My wife’s 2003 Impala LS at 80K miles is starting to show its age a bit. She averages 28 mpg in her commute. If she were to buy a new Prius (averaging 45 mpg). How many miles would it take for her to make up for that 500 gallons required to build her new Prius?
(X mi / 45 mi/gal) + 500 gal = (X mi / 28 mi/gal)
X = 37058 miles
She’d have to go about 37000 miles in the new Prius before she made up for that 500 gallons (verses going 37000 in her Impala). That’s 3 years driving for her.
ChuckL,
Don’t you know it is not eco-trendy to speak well of an US auto company.
Similar thoughts as Tim on production emissions, which should have been included. I had previously heard the Toyota Yaris was the best in terms of total emissions when accounting for total emissions throughout production and use. This “top 10″ analysis leaves much to be desired.
Regarding whether it is beneficial to switch to a more efficient new vehicle due to the production emissions associated… it almost always is although the production costs of hybrids are almost certainly underestimated in Tim’s post (which he implied early on). Even if the old car is junked, it is better in the long haul to get a significantly more efficient vehicle. But this forgets that most old vehicles are sold to someone who is already looking to get a vehicle of that power/mileage/etc, so the old car isn’t wasted. Furthermore, that sold old car may even offset production emissions of the more inefficient vehicle; someone can use an old SUV/guzzler rather than have a new one produced and inefficient vehicles tend to have higher production costs than efficient conventional vehicles.
Further comments on new car production considerations:
http://www.stat.ucla.edu/~david/abou/commentary.php#new-car-costs
But I can’t buy half of those cars on the list!!! No Honda Insight. No Toyota Camry CNG Hybrid.
No Ford Fusion Hybrid. No Nissan Altima Hybrid in 45+ states. No Honda Civic CNG in 45+ states.
What are the top 10 that I can buy today? More importantly, what can the whole country buy today to save C02 emissions?
All (or most) ugly, too small, and slow.
How are families supposed to get all the kids, aniamls, and gear in those toys?
> How are families supposed to get all the kids, aniamls, and gear in those toys?
Last time I checked, a Toyota Camry was a mid-size “family” sedan, similar in size to the Ford Taurus. These “toys” were fine for families in the 1980’s, and the American family has continued to shrink since then. In the rest of the world, a Toyota Corolla is considered a “family” sedan.