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Toyota Leads All Makers with Five Roster Spots
Even facing off against a growing wave of all-electric performers, the 2013 Toyota Prius c was named the “Greenest Vehicle” in the country according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and it wasn’t the only member of the family to do so. In fact, all current Prii were added to the top-12 Greenest Vehicles of 2013 list, as were three different Honda products, the same number of Fords, and singletons from Volkswagen, Smart and Scion.
“The vehicles at the top of this year’s rankings are proof that automakers are really ramping up their offerings,” said Shruti Vaidyanathan, lead vehicle analyst for the ACEEE. “There are more hybrid and electric options on the market this year than ever before, and the race for a spot on the Greenest list is increasingly competitive. Automakers have revamped their offerings to meet the growingdemand for efficient vehicles and the new fuel economy standards.”
The Greenest Vehicles list is based on a unique ACEEE measure that combines data about each vehicle’s fuel consumption and emissions levels, and this year reflects new, more sophisticated methodology that was developed to provide more accurate ratings.
Naturally, a quick rundown of this year’s winner can be found on the following pages.
As mentioned, the full family of Prii was named to the Greenest Vehicles list, and so was one entry from Toyota’s youth-oriented brand, Scion. In fact, the 2013 Scion iQ was one of just two products to earn the ACEEE’s top recognition without the benefit of hybrid or electric assistance, with the other being the Smart Fortwo.
Here’s the breakdown:
For Honda, this year’s Greenest Vehicles results were a mixed bag. On the one hand, three of its products did score high enough to make the list; but on the other, and showing how far auto manufacturers have come in recent years, the CNG-powered version of the 2013 Honda Civic—which led the list for the past eight years—was left off the new ACEEE Greenest Vehicles roster entirely. Instead, Honda’s honorees were:
The Blue Oval’s growing portfolio of electrified vehicles—including both EVs and hybrids—saw record-setting sales in the last quarter of 2012 and started the new year by placing three of them on the ACEEE’s roster of resource-friendly rides:
Rounding out the 12 Greenest Vehicle of 2013 were a pair of vehicles with German roots: The brand-new 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid and the 2013 Smart Fortwo (remember, Smart is owned by Mercedes-Benz).
The greenest Jetta ever mates a turbocharged I4 engine to its advanced hybrid-drive system to achieve 42 mpg city/48 mpg highway, a Green Score of 53, PZEV status, and the seventh spot on the ACEEE listing. The latest edition of one of the smallest vehicles in America, the Fortwo is considered a ULEV entry, boasts an EPA line of 34 mpg city/38 mpg highway and also was awarded a Green Score of 53.