The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 17th annual ranking of 2014 models' environmental friendliness.
This year, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive tops the "Greenest" list with a highest-ever score of 59 out of 100, just in time for the vehicle's nationwide rollout.
Following closely behind are the Toyota Prius C and the Nissan Leaf with scores of 57 and 55 respectively. Toyota's entire family of Priuses performs exceedingly well again this year, with the regular Prius and the Prius plug-in hybrid nabbing spots #4 and #7.
Other top scorers for 2014 include the Honda Civic Hybrid (#5), Lexus CT 200H (#6), Honda Insight (#10), and the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid (#12). Making its return to the "Greenest" list after an absence last year is the Honda Civic Natural Gas vehicle (#9).
New to the list this year is the Mitsubishi Mirage, Mitsubishi's new subcompact offering for the American market. With a Green Score of 55, the gasoline vehicle takes the 8th spot on our list. The only other non-hybrid gasoline model to make the list this year is the Smart ForTwo which placed at #11.
The "Meanest" list this year is comprised of heavier light-duty vehicles and European sports cars that are the least friendly to the environment. The dirtiest vehicle for 2014 is the Class 2B Ram 2500 with a Green Score of 18, followed by the Bugatti Veyron and the Ford E-150 FFV Wagon with scores of 19 and 21 respectively.Special use vans above 8,500 lbs are given a Green Score but are not included on the "Meanest" list.
This "Greener Choices" list includes trucks and SUVs such as the Buick Encore, Nissan Rogue, and the Ram 1500 HFE. The Chevrolet Spark and Nissan Juke top their respective car classes. As the list demonstrates, consumers can make "greener choices" whatever their vehicle needs may be. Domestic manufacturers claimed four of the twelve "Greener Choices" spots.
Greenest Vehicles of 2014
Make and Model
Specifications
Emission Standard a
MPG:
City
MPG:
Hwy
Green
Score
MERCEDES-BENZ SMART ELECTRIC
DRIVE CONVERTIBLE / COUPE b
Electric (Li-ion bat.)
ZEV / Bin 1
3.61
2.77
59
TOYOTA PRIUS C
1.5L 4, auto
SULEV II / Bin 3
53
46
57
NISSAN LEAF b
Electric (Li-ion bat.)
ZEV / Bin 1
3.75
3.01
55
TOYOTA PRIUS
1.8L 4, auto CVT
PZEV / Bin 3
51
48
55
HONDA CIVIC HYBRID
1.5L 4, auto
PZEV / Bin 2
44
47
55
LEXUS CT 200H
1.8L 4, auto CVT
SULEV II / Bin 3
51
48
55
TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID c
Electric (Li-ion bat.) / 1.8L 4, auto CVT
PZEV / Bin 3
3.9 / 51
3.0 / 49
55
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE
1.2L 3, auto CVT
Bin 5 / LEV II
37
44
54
HONDA CIVIC NATURAL GAS
1.8L 4, auto [CNG]
PZEV / Bin 2
27
38
54
HONDA INSIGHT
1.3L 4, auto CVT
Bin 3
41
44
53
MERCEDES-BENZ SMART FORTWO CONVERTIBLE / COUPE
1.0L 3, autol [P]
ULEV II / Bin 5
34
38
53
VOLKSWAGEN JETTA HYBRID
1.4L 4, auto [P]
PZEV / Bin 3
42
48
53
[CNG] denotes compressed natural gas
[P] denotes premium gasoline.
"auto CVT" denotes continuously variable automatic transmission.
a A listing with two emission standards (e.g., Tier 2 bin 2/ PZEV) denotes a single vehicle carrying both a Federal and a California emission certification. Green Scores for such listings reflect the cleaner of the two certifications.
b Fuel economy for electric vehicles is provided in miles per kilowatt-hour.
c Fuel economy for plug-in hybrids is provided in miles per gallon for gasoline operation and in miles per kilowatt-hour for electric operation
Meanest Vehicles for the Environment in 2014
Make and Model
Specifications
Emission Standard a
MPG:
City
MPG:
Hwy
Green
Score
RAM 2500 (CLASS 2B) b
5.7L 8, auto Awd
LEV II
13
18
18
BUGATTI VEYRON
8.0L 16, manual Awd [P]
Bin 5 / LEV II
8
15
19
FORD E-150 WAGON FFV c
5.4L 8, auto
Bin 8
12
16
21
BENTLEY MULSANNE
6.8L 8, auto stk [P]
Bin 5 / LEV II
11
18
21
MERCEDES-BENZ G63 AMG
5.5L 8, auto 4wd [P]
ULEV II / Bin 5
12
14
21
MERCEDES-BENZ G550
5.5L 8, auto 4wd [P]
ULEV II / Bin 5
12
15
22
FORD F-150 RAPTOR
6.2L 8, auto stk
Bin 4
11
16
22
FORD EXPEDITION FFV / LINCOLN NAVIGATOR FFV
5.4L 8, auto
Bin 8
13
18
22
ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM DROPHEAD
COUPE
6.7L 12, auto stk [P]
Bin 5 / LEV II
11
19
23
ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM EWB
6.7L 12, auto stk [P]
Bin 5 / LEV II
11
19
23
LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR ROADSTER
6.5L 12, auto Awd [P]
Bin 5 / LEV II
10
16
23
CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV
6.2L 8, auto Awd
Bin 5
13
18
23
[P] denotes premium gasoline.
"auto stk" denotes manually adjustable automatic transmission.
a A listing with two emission standards (e.g., Tier 2 bin 5 / LEV II) denotes a single vehicle carrying both a federal and a California emission certification. Green Scores for such listings reflect the cleaner of the two certifications.
b The ULEV version of this vehicle scores a 22
c The van version of this vehicle scores a 22
Greener Choices 2014
Make and Model
Specifications
Emission Standarda
MPG:
City
MPG: Hwy
Green
Score
TOYOTA PRIUS C
1.5L 4, auto
SULEV II / Bin 3
53
46
57
TOYOTA PRIUS
1.8L 4, auto CVT
PZEV / Bin 3
51
48
55
TOYOTA PRIUS V
1.8L 4, auto CVT
SULEV II / Bin 3
44
40
52
CHEVROLET SPARK
1.2L 4, auto CVT
Bin 4
30
39
51
BUICK ENCORE
1.4L 4, auto stk
Bin 4
26
38
46
NISSAN JUKE
1.6L 4, auto CVT [P]
ULEV II / Bin 5
27
32
45
KIA FORTE 5
2.0L 4, auto
ULEV II / Bin 5
24
34
45
NISSAN ROGUE
2.5L 4, auto CVT
ULEV II / Bin 5
26
33
44
FORD TRANSIT CONNECT VAN
2.5L 4, auto stk
ULEV II / Bin 5
21
29
40
TOYOTA TACOMA
2.7L 4, auto
ULEV II / Bin 5
19
24
37
HONDA ODYSSEY
3.5L 6, auto
ULEV II / Bin 5
19
28
36
RAM 1500 HFE
3.6L 6, auto
Bin 4
18
25
35
[P] denotes premium gasoline.
"auto CVT" denotes continuously variable automatic transmission.
"auto stk" denotes manually adjustable automatic transmission.
a A listing with two emission standards (e.g., Tier 2 bin 3 / PZEV) denotes a single vehicle carrying both a federal and California emission certification. Green Scores for such listings reflect the cleaner of the two certifications.
[source: greenercars.org]