The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) announced in February its list of the least and most environmentally friendly vehicles for all model year 2005 cars and passenger trucks.
Retaining the distinction as the greenest vehicle of the year is Honda's natural gas-powered Civic GX. The hybrid-electric Honda Insight follows closely behind, with the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Corolla rounding out the top five.
The most notable newcomer to this year's list is the Ford Escape Hybrid – marking the first time ever a gasoline-powered SUV has achieved a spot among the greenest vehicles of the year. (The battery-electric Toyota RAV4 EV and Honda EV Plus previously held spots on the list until their discontinuation). Other manufacturers in the top twelve include Nissan, Pontiac, and Mazda, according to ACEEE.
The list, available on the GreenerCars.com Web site, also identifies top widely available models in each vehicle class. This "Greener Choices" list includes larger vehicles, such as the Ford Freestyle SUV, Honda Odyssey minivan, and Toyota Tundra pickup. Passenger cars such as the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx and Ford Focus Wagon also top their respective classes.
The 2005 "Meanest Vehicles" list, while once again dominated by large SUVs, is topped by the 8.3-liter, 500-horsepower Dodge Ram SRT10 pickup truck. Filling out the "bottom 5" are the Ford Excursion, Hummer H2, Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG and Lamborghini Murcielago, according to ACEEE.
The Greenest Vehicles of 2005
Make
& Model |
Specifications
a |
Emission
Standard a |
MPG:
City |
MPG:
Hwy |
Green
Score |
HONDA
CIVIC GX |
1.7L
4, auto CVT [CNG] b |
PZEV |
30 |
34 |
57 |
HONDA
INSIGHT |
1.0L
3, auto CVT |
SULEV
II |
57 |
56 |
56 |
TOYOTA
PRIUS |
1.5L
4, auto CVT |
PZEV |
60 |
51 |
53 |
HONDA
CIVIC HYBRID |
1.3L
4, auto CVT |
PZEV |
47 |
48 |
51 |
TOYOTA
COROLLA |
1.8L
4, manual |
ULEV
II |
32 |
41 |
44 |
TOYOTA
ECHO |
1.5L
4, manual |
Tier
2 bin 9 |
35 |
42 |
43 |
NISSAN
SENTRA |
1.8L
4, manual |
PZEV |
28 |
35 |
42 |
HONDA
CIVIC HX |
1.7L
4, manual |
ULEV
I |
36 |
44 |
42 |
PONTIAC
VIBE / TOYOTA MATRIX c |
1.8L
4, manual |
ULEV
II |
30 |
36 |
41 |
MAZDA
3 |
2.0L
4, manual |
PZEV |
28 |
35 |
41 |
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID |
2.3L
4, auto CVT |
PZEV |
36 |
31 |
40 |
FORD
FOCUS / FOCUS WAGON |
2.0L
4, manual |
PZEV |
26 |
35 |
40 |
a
Certain other configurations of these models (with different transmissions
or meeting different emission standards) score nearly as well.
b Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fuel economy given
in gasoline-equivalent miles per gallon.
cThese vehicles are "twins" -- the same base
model carrying different names. Courtesy of Greenercars.com |
|
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