Visitors to the EcoTest website (www.ecotest.eu) can either download the results covering all car models or search for specific figures according to manufacturer, engine type, vehicle class and emission standard.  The programme, which started two years ago, has built up a profile of the environmental performance of a range of popular car models from Alfa Romeo and Audi, to Volvo and VW.

The database, which was set up by German automobile club ADAC and sponsored by the FIA Foundation, shows that hybrid engines are the best performers with superior ratings to petrol-fuelled cars. However, new diesel technologies, such as particle filters and selective catalytic reduction, show ‘very promising results’, according to EcoTest. In future, it is expected that diesel engines will perform as well as the best petrol-fuelled cars.

Cars were tested for exhaust pollutants including hydrocarbons, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. They were also assessed for CO2 emissions.

Björn Dosch Director of Transport Affairs at ADAC said that the results are expected to provide a useful guide for car buyers. He said: “We’ve tried to look through the eyes of the consumer. Of course, we need the absolute information but we also need the relative information because consumers want to compare different types of cars. Today, what we’ve seen is that hybrid cars show the best performance both in terms of pollutants and CO2 emissions.” 

In addition, the results show that over the last decade, there have been greater improvements in cutting exhaust pollution than in reducing CO2 emissions. EcoTest also found that biomass fuels have “significant potential” for CO2 reduction and are likely to outstrip conventional fuel performance in future.