A new green car for less than a grand series : 2. Citroen C1 1.0i Vibe 3-dr

Here we are with the second in a series of green cars you can buy for less than a grand. The Citroen C1 1.0i 3-dr a nippy urban traveller with top class fuel performance.

This car was selling earlier this month for £6,176 a saving of £1,423 on the list price. Now,note  before you buy, worthy of serious consideration though it is, do watch out to check the model you are choosing- Citroen did announce this month that a new model with revised styling will be in showrooms early next year. The above picture is of that new model. The interior has been refreshed ,with other changes made to conform with the latest Citroen house style. 

I expect the new model will easily come in under our £10k bar. It will have slightly improved CO2 emissions at 106g/km over the current model level at 109g/km, and combined cycle consumption of 62.8 mpg from its 68 hp 1.0 litre petrol engine (an improvement in consumption of 2%). 

Check out the choice availability with your dealer. You may get a really good deal on the current model, or the new one.

Reducing CO2 emissions: That's Smart that micro hybrid drive

The Green Car Guide reports :

 "Smart is launching a new model with micro hybrid drive(mhd) technology. From now, 61hp and 71 hp versions of the smart fortwo will feature micro hybrid drive as standard,which is an automatic start/stop function helping to provide significant savings in terms of both fuel economy and emissions."

For a fuller report click here at Green-Car-Guide

A New Green Car for Less than a Grand Series: 1. Mazda 2

You may remember my recent post when, during the MPG Marathon 2008, the Mazda 2 1.4 5dr TS2 Diesel distinguished itself by scoring a superb 65.7 mpg performance on the combined cycle, fully exploiting the supermini's light weight and smooth aerodynamics. The CO2 rating was an amazing 114g/km qualifying for the £35 road fund licence band.

If you look around, Which? reckon  you can pick-up  a Mazda 2 1.4D TS(AC) 3-dr for around £9,000, saving you a possible £550.

Ten Grand Low Emission Cars

When chill economic winds blow,it is good to know that helping the environment can also help you. The Which? Guide to Greener Driving will help you grind out the credit crunch by bringing you the low-down on great value cars at less than a grand - yes,in some cases,far less than £10,000.

If you could find savings of more than £2,000 on a brand new car would you be interested?And pay less than £10k? Which? have found the following opportunities to cut fuel bills -they average between 51 and 65 mpg- and tax as for the lowest CO2 models:

1. Fiat Panda 1.3 Multijet Dynamic 5-dr - (list price £8990) now around £6,471 (as at 11.1108) - saving circa.£2,519 
2. Citroen C2 1.4 HDi Vibe 3-dr (list price £10,190) now £8,082,saving £2106
3. Skoda  Fabia 1.4 TDi 70 5-dr (list price £9,925) now£8,333,saving £1,592
4. Citroen C1 1.0 i Vibe 3-dr (list price £7,540) now £6,117,saving £1,423
5. Peugeot 107 1.0 Urban Lite 3-dr (list price £7,540) now £6,176,saving £1,364
6. Toyota Aygo 1.0 VVT-1 3-dr (list price £7,170) now £ 6,154, saving £1,016
7. Suzuki Splash 1.2 GLS 5-dr (list price £9,048) now £8,454,saving £594
8. Mazda2 1.4D TS (AS) 3-dr (list price £9,594) now £9,027, saving £567
9. SmartFour Two 1.0 71 Pure 2-dr (list price£7,445) now £6,955,saving £490
10. Hyundai i10 1.2 Comfort 5-dr (list price ££7,740) now £7,398,saving £342

These are great offers which were okay at 11.11.08. You will have to do your own deals, and follow the relevant dealer terms and conditions for business. The Which? Complete Guide to Greener Motoring is available in selected WH Smith stores, Borders,Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda. Cost £6.99.

Remember you can also buy the Green-Car-Guide online for £4.95 at the website of Green Car Guide

This will also provide you with reviews on green cars available to buy in the UK. Click here for the Green Car Guide

The even greener VW BlueMotion2

Building on the gains in fuel efficiency achieved with the existing Passat BlueMotion,Volkswagen have introduced the new BlueMotion2 with a 2.0 litre TDI 110 PS common rail diesel engine, replacing the outgoing 1.9 litre TDI 105 PS unit injector powerplant.

The new Passat BlueMotion2 has a stop/start system giving 57.6 mpg for the saloon and estate models, with CO2 emissions coming in at 128 g/km and 129 g/km respectively.

Ford to Focus on green car big brother Mondeo?

The Ford Focus has been acclaimed by the Green Car Guide as an excellent green car- it's affordable and good to drive. The Guide goes on to say that ,presumably, the Mondeo Econetic,will receive similar praise. Or will it? Is there a shock horror conclusion to this road test...? To find out the full story click here 

The Future of Green Cars- electric,hybrid,hydrogen...

Last week, arguably, the future for green low carbon cars was on show, and all in one place, on one day.

As well as bringing together a display of exciting green cars, the event was used as a platform to announce a #10million project inviting motor manufacturers to run electric car and ultra low carbon vehicle demonstration projects. 100 electric cars will be made available in UK towns and cities so that drivers in families can provide the sort of feedback required to bring greener motoring to daily life.

In an interview with Green-Car-Guide.com ,Lord Drayson confirmed that future cars need to be significantly more efficient, but they must be great to drive. This gives hope that the UK motorists will soon be able to get their hands on exciting green cars.

Well qualified to speak as Minister of State for Science and Technology,Lord Drayson has the credentials to lead the drive towards lower carbon vehicles. He is known for motor racing, particularly  in a (sustainably) biofuelled Aston Martin.

Go to the Green-Car-Guide.com website, for further report on the interview with the Minister on his vision for the future of green cars and, also, the revival of the British motor industry and its placement at the centre of the low carbon economy. There you will also see the green cars that were on show at this event organised by Cenex,the UK's first national centre of excellence for low carbon and fuel cell rechnologies, and the Technology Strategy Board. The cars include the following (some photos of which will be will be posted here over the next few days):

• the iMIEV from Mitsubishi (shown above)
• the Smart ED
• the Dynasty 'iT'
• Land Rover Freelander hybrid
• Honda Civic 
• the Genetta
• Tesla Roadster
• Lotus Exige Tri-Fuel

These are covered at the Green-Car-Guide site where you can click here now to visit.