12 Jul 01
Reading about the impact that cars and motoring have on the environment can be depressing. Cleaner electric-powered and hybrid vehicles are now available, but they are too expensive for many drivers and don't necessarily come in practical forms. Nonetheless, there's plenty that you can do to ensure that your motoring is as environmentally friendly as possible.
Should I think small?
Low power and light weight mean low fuel consumption and low insurance, so a small car is light on your pocket. And low fuel consumption means that you're using less of the earth's finite resources of oil, which can only be a good thing.
So if I use less fuel, does that mean I'm a green motorist?
It's not the only way you can make a difference, but it is one of the most important (along with proper servicing - more on this later). When a car burns fuel, whether petrol or diesel, the combustion process leads to harmful by-products being emitted from the tailpipe. On the whole, small cars that burn less fuel emit less carbon dioxide, the gas that contributes to global warming. Low carbon-dioxide emissions are also rewarded by lower car tax bills.
Does that make small cars best, then?
Size isn't everything, because there are other emissions apart from carbon dioxide to consider, but in general, small cars that burn less fuel emit less carbon dioxide. The age of the car is important, too. Government statistics show that it would take 20 examples of an average modern car to produce the same pollution as one average car made 25 years ago. Advances in engine design mean that cars are getting cleaner and cleaner all the time, so the newer, the better. But if you can only afford a much older car, then a smaller old car will, on the whole, be greener than a big old banger, because it will consume - and burn - less fuel.
