All-electric vehicles are still on the expensive side, and may not be ideal for those who regularly cover long distances. But even for this usage scenario, there are a number of eco-friendly, low-emission cars already on the market. We compiled this list of 2022’s best low-emission “green” cars in South Africa.
Emissions and ways to reduce it
All combustion-engine-powered vehicles produce tailpipe emissions, and this is a big problem in an increasingly environmentally-conscious world. Fortunately, there are various ways in which these emissions can be reduced, and many manufacturers employ combinations of these techniques.
Intricate exhaust-cleaning technology has seen a marked improvement in reducing harmful emissions, such as non-ventilating fuel systems, catalytic converters, and (on diesel vehicles) urea treatment of the exhaust gas to reduce nitrous-oxide emissions. However, this approach can only go so far, before it becomes necessary to explore other avenues.
Another solution to achieve low emissions is to make a car lighter. Less weight needs less power to move it around, meaning that the engine will use less fuel to propel the car, and lower fuel usage means lower emissions by default. But yet again, this approach only yields results up to a point – the point where it’s impossible or impractical to make the car lighter.
Eventually, these options will be exhausted, or optimised to the point where further improvements won’t be technologically or financially feasible. This is where hybrids come into the picture: If you take an already-optimised car and add some hybrid hardware, you could slash a good share of its remaining tailpipe emissions.
How effective are hybrids at reducing exhaust emissions?
Let’s compare two similar cars to find out. In this scenario, one car is powered by an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and the other one is powered by a hybrid drivetrain, which combines a slightly-detuned (but highly-efficient) petrol engine for primary motivation with an electric motor and a small battery pack for some added torque and energy recovery.
The Toyota Corolla Cross is a great example here, because it’s available in pure-ICE or hybrid forms, but are otherwise identical. The Corolla Cross 1.8 is claimed to emit 154 grams of CO2 for every kilometer travelled, while the Corolla Cross Hybrid emits only 98 g/km, thus qualifying for Low-Emission (LEV) status. (100 g/km is currently considered the upper limit for LEVs).
That’s more than 30% less harmful exhaust emissions, purely as a result of its hybrid drive technology. And, not only does the hybrid spew less pollutants, but it also uses less fuel on average – a win-win for the thrifty and the environmentally aware alike.
Similar trends can be seen in other offerings as well. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs, which have larger batteries and can drive extended distances in EV-only mode) have an even greater advantage.
The Honda Fit emits 132 g/km in petrol-only form and its hybrid variant slashes that to 88 g/km; but the Jaguar E-Pace 300 Sport emits 184 g/km while its similarly-powerful PHEV sibling is claimed to emit only 48 g/km. That’s powerful evidence that a hybrid drivetrain can make a huge improvement to an ICE car’s emissions.
Not all low-emission vehicles have to be hybrids, but it helps…
Very small (light) cars with very small engines can be classified as low-emission vehicles, simply because they weigh very little and consequently don’t need a lot of power (fuel) to move about. As an example, see the Suzuki Celerio: Even without a hybrid drivetrain, its rated CO2 emission of 92 g/km is very close to that of the hybrid Honda Fit, and allows the little Suzuki to be called a LEV.
This isn’t always possible, though, as many buyers demand larger and more-powerful cars, and that’s where hybrids serve their purpose. Not only can hybrids reduce CO2 emissions, but they can do so without limiting driving range or compromising driveability.
Currently-available LEVs in South Africa
Apart from a handful of city cars, such as the Celerio, no pure-ICE cars in South Africa can be classified as LEVs (in other words, none of them emit less than 100 g/km of CO2). There are a bunch of hybrids that do qualify for this title, though, so this list will be made up mostly of petrol-electric hybrids.
City cars
Fiat 500 TwinAir (90 g/km)
Suzuki Celerio 1.0 (92 g/km)
Honda Fit Hybrid (88 g/km)
Compact cars/crossovers
Toyota Corolla Hybrid (81 g/km)
Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid (98 g/km)
Toyota Prius Hybrid (87 g/km)
Executive cars/crossovers
Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge PHEV (37 g/km)
Jaguar E-Pace P300e PHEV (48 g/km)
Range Rover Evoque P300e PHEV (43 g/km)
Land Rover Discovery Sport P300e PHEV (48 g/km)
Volvo XC90 T8 Recharge PHEV (49 g/km)
BMW X5 xDrive45e PHEV (56 g/km)
Jaguar F-Pace P400e PHEV (62 g/km)
Range Rover Velar P400e PHEV (52 g/km)
Land Rover Defender P400e PHEV (64 g/km)
Range Rover Sport P400e PHEV (64 g/km)
Porsche Cayenne e-hybrid PHEV (78 g/km)
BMW 745Le xDrive PHEV (65 g/km)
Porsche Panamera 4/4S e-hybrid PHEV (49/ 51 g/km)
Porsche Cayenne turbo S e-hybrid PHEV (90 g/km)
Porsche Panamera turbo S e-hybrid PHEV (62 g/km)
Range Rover P510e PHEV (37 g/km)
Verdict
While very few cars manage to squeeze below the 100 g/km barrier for CO2 emissions, most ICE-fuelled compact hatchbacks are only about 25% off this target. Lexus also deserves some recognition here, because many of their larger hybrids (IS, NX, ES and RX) register around 130 g/km, which is remarkable for cars of their size and weight, and at least 30% lower than most of their opponents.
So, while those Lexus models don’t qualify as LEVs under the strict definition of the term, they are very “green” in the context of their market segments. But the most noteworthy conclusion here is that PHEVs (plug-in hybrids) are showing the way towards combining low emissions with strong performance. Stick to the city, and that emission figure could well fall to zero!
Keyword: Best low-emission green cars in 2022