Charles Clover, The Telegraph 30 Jan 08;
Motorists could save £300 a year by choosing a "greener" car instead of a nearly identical gas-guzzling model, according to a study.
Yet greener cars - such as the 74.3 mpg Volkswagen Polo Blue Motion diesel and the 65.7 mpg Toyota Prius hybrid - are likely to account for only 0.2 per cent of cars on the roads this year.
The running costs of the six most eco-friendly cars, according to the Department for Transport's own figures, were compared with standard cars from the same manufacturers by researchers from the independent price-switching website, uSwitch.com.
Apart from the Prius, all the "green" cars chosen were diesels. As a family car, there was a 57.6 mpg Renault Laguna Hatch; as an estate car, a 61.4 mpg Skoda Fabia estate; and, as an MPV, a 58.9 mpg Ford Focus C-Max with a 1.6 litre engine.
Researchers found that motorists covering 12,000 miles a year would save an average of £165 a year on fuel compared to the gas-guzzling equivalent from the same manufacturer (though this was often much less gas-guzzling compared with luxury cars and 4x4s).
The green car driver could also save as much £125 in road tax - in the case of the Polo super-mini, by avoiding it completely as the car came into the A band, which applies to vehicles emitting under 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre.
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Drivers of green cars also emitted an average of 17 per cent less than people driving the gas-guzzling equivalents, which in the case of the Toyota Prius was calculated as the 39.8 mpg petrol-engined Toyota Auris.
Over five years of ownership, the study found that green drivers saved an average of £1,092 on fuel and tax compared with drivers of "standard" cars.
The study also found that it was a myth that "green" cars cost more to buy. In fact, the "green" cars studied worked out £130 cheaper to buy than the standard equivalent, bringing the savings over five years to £1,222.
On top of that, the study found that "green" cars depreciate by £562 a year less on average than standard cars, so offer more savings.
Last year, the number of "green" cars sold rose by 70 per cent, from 10,000 the year before to 17,000.
If this trend continues, there will be more than 28,900 green cars bought this year, bringing the number of "green" cars driving on Britain's roads to 55,900, according to uSwitch.
Ashton Berkhauer of uSwitch said: "A vehicle's green credentials are fast becoming a major selling point when it comes to buying a new car. However, it is not just a matter of motorists blindly jumping on the green bandwagon.
"With fuel prices soaring to a record high, motorists are becoming attracted to these fuel-efficient, lower-tax green vehicles, finding them to be kind on their pockets as well as the environment."
He said that to be truly green, however, motorists would need also to insure with a company that was carbon neutral and offset their emissions by donating to a charity that worked on environmental projects.
