Buying a new car

When buying a new car, you have a big opportunity to cut both your fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions - saving you money and helping the environment.

Today's cars tend to be more fuel-efficient than older ones - in fact, the average car today is at least 10 per cent cleaner than a pre-2000 model. But even in the same market category (e.g. family cars, MPVs) there can be a big difference in emissions. So think carefully about what kind of car you need. When you follow the principles below, you can find a car that's cheaper and greener to run.

Perfect timing

If you've been thinking of changing your car and have been hanging on to your old car for years, now is the perfect time to upgrade to a new, more energy-efficient car. The 2009 Budget announced a new scheme giving you a £2000 discount on the price of a new car - as long as you scrap your old one.

You qualify for the scheme if your car is more than ten years old, you have been its registered keeper for at least 12 months and it has an MOT. The scheme is scheduled to run till March 2010.

The big question: what kind of car do you need?

Think about what your requirements really are - and what size or type of car you need to meet them. For example, if your children have left home, it might be time to part with the large family car. Why not aim for the car with the lowest CO₂ emissions that meets your needs? By comparing vehicles and making the right choice, you could save the equivalent of three months fuel each year.*

* Based on 2005 registration data and calculated by taking the average CO₂ emissions of all cars sold in a What Car? class. This figure was compared to the carbon that would be emitted if everyone bought the car with the lowest emissions in that class. An average figure was then calculated for all What Car? categories.

Emissions: the principles

• As a general rule, the more fuel-efficient a car is, the lower CO₂ emissions
• In general, smaller cars, or cars with smaller engines, produce less CO₂
• As well as buying the right car, you can slash carbon emissions and fuel consumption by smarter driving
• Vehicle excise duty - road tax - is lower for cars with low CO₂ emissions
  • Vehicles that emit under 101g of CO₂ per km pay no road tax. This rises to £35 per year for cars that produce between 101-140g/km CO₂ and £120/year for cars producing 121-130 g/km. Higher emitting vehicles pay even more - up to £405 a year

Finding out about emissions

It's easy to discover about how much CO₂ a car emits.

• The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) provides information on new car fuel consumption and exhaust emissions figures.
• Read adverts for new cars. In every ad, in print or on TV, manufacturers must publish information about fuel economy and how much CO₂ the car produces.
• Always read the label! New cars in showrooms have labels in the windscreen with full details about fuel economy, carbon emissions, even how much it will cost you to run for a certain number of miles. It grades cars from A - the cleanest - to M - the most polluting. The grade also tells you how much annual road tax you'd have to pay, this ranges from zero for the cleanest band A cars, up to £405 a year for band M.

Does diesel make a difference?

Diesel cars often have lower CO₂ emissions than petrol, even if they cost to more buy and at a time when diesel is more expensive at the pump and can be cheaper to run overall.

On the downside, diesel engines traditionally produce more of the emissions that affect air quality and can damage our health, such as NOx and particulates. If you drive mainly in urban areas, this is something to look out for.

The good news is that modern diesels are getting cleaner all the time and most manufacturers offer a diesel particulate filter (DPF) which greatly reduces particulate emissions from the exhaust. This is either available as standard, or an optional extra which you may have to pay for.

How about hybrids?

Hybrid cars have become increasingly popular in the last few years because of their fuel efficiency. Some models can travel more than 70 miles on one gallon of fuel.

Hybrids contain both a conventional engine and an electrical motor powered by batteries. As you drive, the batteries are recharged. They tend to be at their most fuel-efficient in urban driving, so if the majority of your motoring is on main roads and motorways, a hybrid may not be the most efficient choice for you.

Emerging electrics

Electric cars are viewed by many as a great way to cut CO₂ emissions from motoring. Instead of using petrol, they are powered by a rechargeable electric battery that can simply plug into the electricity supply. They are seen as particularly useful for shorter, commuter-style journeys.

While electric cars are currently seen in the labs rather on the roads, plans announced in the 2009 Budget should see all-electric cars available for sale on garage forecourts by 2011. What's more, the Government is planning to offer subsidies of between £2,000 and £5,000 to encourage their uptake.

Before then, there are plans for a full-scale trial of electric cars in a handful of cities or areas of the UK. This will mean developing not only the cars, but also the charging infrastructure so that cars can power up at home and at garages or other convenient points. A small number of drivers will be required to sign up to test the system and feed into its development. Find out more about the trial scheme.