THE fashion for so-called green cars rages unabated.
Propelled by tax breaks for the least polluting cars and consumer desirability (or fashion, depending on your point of view), low carbon motoring is all the rage.
As with all trends though, you pay a price for being up to date.
The cheapest new car you can get which fits under the 100g/km (that’s the maximum emissions a car can pump out and still qualify for a free tax disc) is the Kia Picanto – that will cost you around £8,000.
Next is the Hyundai i10 Blue at £9,500, the smart ForTwo which costs the same, and then the Toyota iQ, which will set you, back a steep £10,500.
In the context of second-hand cars, these motors are actually pretty expensive for what you get.
You still have to go through the rigmarole of getting the tax-disc (though it’s free) and you still have to park in a standard sized space (unless you are in a Nissan Leaf which is fully eclectic, you can park and charge for free but you’ll have to shell our £25,000 to get one).
So, if you are worried about the planet, and fancy avoiding road tax or the congestion charge, what can you get for around the same money as a new Kia or Hyundai?
Well, here are three deeply green and utterly rational suggestions from the team at UsedCarExpert…
VW Polo BlueMotion
A solid, no-nonsense answer to the problems of green family motoring. Sensible, pleasant to drive and without to much in the way of inverted snobbery, the Bluemotion Polo offers all the advantages of the VWs classic small hatchback with none of drawbacks of the much smaller eco-cars available for the same money new.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: An extremely tidy 2008 Polo BlueMotion 2 with air-con and a full service history, in silver with 45,000 miles on the clock is available for £7,495. That’s £500 less than the Kia for a lot more car.
Ford Focus ECOnetic
It’s a Focus. That means it’s about the best family car that there is. Comfortable, athletic and reliable. The Focus covers all bases and in this guise it’s greener than Kermit the Frog.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A 2009 car in silver with less than 40,000 miles on the clock and a full service history will cost you £9,000 – or slightly less than you’d need for a smart ForTwo in which you would have difficulty carrying a tune, let alone a weekly shop.
Toyota Prius
Actually, the last generation Prius is not exempt from road tax. It’s included because the road tax is only £20 and it’ll reliably do 50mpg. Also they are pretty cheap second-hand due to the inherent suspicion of the used car trade for new ideas.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A pampered 2008, fully loaded T Spirit Prius with less than 50,000 miles on the clock and a full service history is available for £10,999.