The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 19th annual comprehensive environmental ratings for vehicles.
The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive tops the Greenest List for the third year in a row with an unprecedented Green Score of 63. Toyota’s Prius line performs exceedingly well once again, with the new Prius Eco nabbing the 4th spot, while the Prius C and original Prius claim spots #8 and #9.
For the first time ever, the Greenest list is completely populated by plug-in and hybrid vehicles; not a single vehicle with only an internal combustion engine appears. This is partly due to the disappearance from the American market of a few of the longstanding entries on the Greenest List, including the Honda Civic Natural Gas. However, the conventional Smart ForTwo and Chevrolet Spark hover just below the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid.
Greenest Vehicles for 2016
1. Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Convertible / Coupe 63
2. Chevrolet Spark EV 63
3. Fiat 500E 62
4. Toyota Prius Eco 61
5. Volkswagen E-Golf 61
6. Nissan Leaf S / Leaf SV 61
7. Kia Soul Electric 59
8. Toyota Prius C 59
9. Toyota Prius 58
10. Ford Focus Electric 57
11. Chevrolet Volt 56
12. Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid 56
The newest additions to the list are the Volkswagen eGolf and the Kia’s Soul electric vehicle, which claim the #5 and #7 spots respectively. This year marks the first time a Kia vehicle has earned a top spot since 2009. The improved 2016 Chevrolet Volt also nabs a spot this year (#11) thanks to significant increases in fuel economy and its new streamlined vehicle design. Once again this year, a diverse array of manufacturers are represented among the top 12 vehicles, including two American manufacturers.
Modern clean diesels have repeatedly placed well in ACEEE’s annual rankings, only a few places away from the “Greenest” list. However, following the EPA announcement that Volkswagen has cheated federal emissions standards since 2009 with the use of defeat devices, greenercars.org suspended its Green Scores for all affected VW, Audi, and Porsche diesel models.
The Greener Choices list includes trucks and SUVs, such as the Chevrolet Trax and the GMC Canyon. The gasoline-powered Chevrolet Spark and Honda Fit top their respective car classes. As the list demonstrates, consumers can make greener choices whatever their vehicle needs may be. Domestic manufacturers claimed five of the 12 Greener Choices spots:
Greener Choices Score
1. Toyota Prius Eco 61
2. Toyota Prius C 59
3. Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo Convertible / Coupe 55
4. Chevrolet Spark 54
5. Toyota Prius V 54
6. Honda Fit 53
7. Ford C-Max Hybrid 51
8. Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid 48
9. Chevrolet Trax 47
10. Ford Transit Connect Van 42
11. Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 42
12. Chevrolet Colorado / GMC Canyon 40
The Meanest List this year is comprised of one pickup, heavier medium-duty vehicles, and a handful of European sports cars that are the least friendly to the environment. Vehicles with very low sales units are omitted from this list, and this year Class 2b pickups weighing above 8,500 lbs. were not rated:
Meanest Vehicles for the Environment in 2016
1. Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG 20
2. Chevrolet/GMC G2500 Express / Savana (Passenger) (MDPV) 22
3. Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 22
4. Bentley Mulsanne 23
5. Mercedes-Benz G550 23
6. Toyota Sequoia FFV 25
7. Ford Transit T150 Wagon FFV 25
8. Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG 25
9. Lexus LX 570 26
10. Bentley Continental GT Convertible / Flying Spur 26
11. Toyota Tundra 26
12. Mercedes-Benz GL550 4Matic 26
