Adac compares co2 emissions and costs of alternative drive systems

The alternative drive systems currently offered in series production still have their problems. This is the result of a six-month endurance test conducted by adac. In the test, the automobile club examined the alternative fuels natural gas, lpg and ethanol as well as the drive concepts mild and full hybrid in terms of their suitability for everyday use, environmental behavior and costs. A clean diesel was used as a reference model for conventional car technology.

With an average consumption of 5.8 l. This was determined on the basis of the adac-ecotest. However, the skoda oktavia with diesel engine proved that a conventional car can also produce few pollutants. It achieved second place, ahead of the honda civic with mild hybrid (third place) and vw touran with natural gas drive (fourth place). In terms of directly measured co2 emissions, neither the subaru outback with liquid gas drive nor the ethanol-powered ford focus bring any improvement. In theory, these fuels offer a co2 advantage in combustion – but in practice, consumption increases to such an extent that the advantage is cancelled out.

In the cost balance, the ecofuel touran clearly came out on top. It benefits from its moderate consumption and the favorable price of natural gas. The prius only took third place here due to its total cost of ownership and had to admit defeat to the honda civic despite its lower fuel consumption. In ethanol mode, the ford focus came in fourth. This makes it more favorable than the skoda octavia, whose high total cost of ownership prevents it from achieving a better ranking. As with the co2 values, the subaru brings up the rear.

According to the adac, the test shows that there are already alternatives to conventional diesels and gasoline engines. However, all systems also had disadvantages. The network of filling stations for ethanol, for example, is still very thin. There are also gaps in the supply of natural gas. The hybrid drive could only show its advantages in the city. On the other hand, its consumption is high when driving interurban and on the highway. Because here the positive effect of the brake energy recovery is small.

The adac concludes that anyone who is concerned exclusively with co2 emissions when driving a car currently has no alternative to a full hybrid drive. Natural gas is the most favorable from a cost perspective. In general, however, depending on the concept, considerable restrictions in comfort, performance and range have to be accepted.

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