The Volkswagen Passat 1.4 TSI EcoFuel is the first car ever to receive five stars on the EcoTest environmental vehicle assessment. The car was awarded a total 92 points for its compressed natural gas (CNG) operation, trumping the Toyota Prius’ 89 points and four-star EcoTest rating. The Prius has held the EcoTest ‘best car’ title for the last four years.

The number of EcoTest stars awarded to a car is calculated by measuring the amount of pollutant emissions (carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter) as well as the amount of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. The VW received the maximum of 50 points for exhaust pollutant emissions and was given 42 points for CO2 emissions (fuel consumption). The strong balance of both results helped the VW achieve this impressive star rating.

Practically speaking, the VW emits approximately 134g of carbon dioxide per kilometre in a realistic driving cycle. This places it far ahead of both the best diesel model (BMW 318d DPF: 141 g/km) and the best petrol model (Toyota Avensis 1.8 Sol: 155 g/ km) in the middle class range. In addition, the VW’s small 1.4 TSI engine performs well and is able to get good engine torque even at a low RPM.

Introduced in 2003, the EcoTest is carried out by the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil- Club (ADAC) and is funded by the FIA Foundation. The aim is to offer car buyers an objective, integrated assessment of a car’s environmental behaviour for accurate comparisons on fuel consumption and pollutant emissions of various vehicles. The result is a simple and comprehensible rating with one to five stars for each car. The assessment of pollutants (CO, HC, NOx and PM) is based on a linear scale system which is applied to every car regardless of vehicle class. CO2 emissions are measured according to a vehicle class dependent system to allow consumers to compare vehicles of the same size and class. This means that car buyers are not simply given the expected result that larger vehicles emit more CO2 than smaller ones.

EcoTest results are continuously updated and can be accessed online at www.ecotest.eu, where currently almost 900 vehicle models are listed.