Study finds cleanest car ahead of electric vehicles… Toyota Prius PHEV

In the vast majority of cases, when we talk about a car’s efficiency, emissions, or “green” status (especially if it’s electrified), we’re usually talking about its consumption. This is a factor that many consumers take into account, although for a pure electric vehicle there may be more emphasis autonomy or recharge time.

However, If we had to evaluate how “clean” a car is, we would look more at, for example, the CO2 emissions it emits. It comes to us from the USA a study that goes even further and evaluates many more factors to determine which car is the cleanest. And we say this because the end result is that the plug-in hybrid car tops the chart, even ahead of the 100% electric options.

American Council for an Energy Efficient EconomyASEEE) prepared another year GreenerCars Study in 2024, which assessed the environmental impact of 1,200 vehicles. Car number 1 on the list, as we said in the title, Toyota Prius; but not everyone knows the self-charging hybrid model, but plug-in hybrid version which is sold in some markets.

Before we present them with the ranking, we will tell you what the research took into account when compiling the ranking. In essence, ACEEE assessed the level greenhouse gases and other polluting emissions during their production, use and disposal.. That is, throughout the entire life cycle of the car.

“In addition to estimating emissions from fuel burned in a vehicle’s engine, we estimate upstream emissions resulting from the electricity used by the vehicle. emissions from mining and processing of battery mineralsand emissions from the production of vehicles and their components,” ACEEE says on its website.

All vehicles analyzed received “Green account“on a scale from 0 to 100. The top car Toyota Prius Prime SE (equivalent to the Prius PHEV in Europe), received a score of 71, and is also the car with the lowest annual fuel cost at $529.

Japanese hybrid ahead of four other 100% electric vehicles next in the ranking: Lexus RZ 300e, MINI Cooper SE, Nissan Leaf and Toyota bZ4X. In case you’re wondering, the first Tesla on the list, the Model Y AWD, received a green score of 58, missing out on the top spots.

In an electric car, the main thing is not the battery or autonomy: Lucid aims to radically reduce consumption.

Let us remind you that Toyota Prius with PHEV technology of the latest generation – fourth – not sold in Spain. Where it does this is, for example, in Germany, where it is available for 52,690 euros and with an electric range of 86 kilometers.

Source | ASEEE