TOP 5 ECOLOGICAL CARS

The Toyota Prius is a mid-size, full hybrid electric car that was developed and is manufactured byToyota Motor Corp. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the vehicle is the most fuel-efficient gasoline car currently being sold in the USA. The EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) also rate the Prius among the least-polluting vehicles sold in the USA based on smog formation and toxic emissions.

The Prius first went on sale in 1997, in Japan, thus becoming the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle ever. In 2001 it was introduced on other markets. The Prius is sold in over 70 countries and regions; its largest markets are Japan and North America.

The Honda Insight is a hybrid electric car manufactured by Honda and is the first production vehicle to feature Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist system. 

Billed as the least expensive gasoline/electric hybrid on the US market – at US$19,800 for a five-door hatchback – the Insight is the most affordable hybrid available in the USA. In a first for hybrid vehicles, it was rated the top-selling vehicle in Japan for April 2009.

The Honda Civic Hybrid is a hybrid version of the Honda Civic sedan, and was first introduced in Japan towards the end of 2001. It features either a continuously variable automatic transmission or (pre-2005) a 5-speed manual transmission. The vehicle uses an Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system that resembles the one used in the Honda Insight, a power-assist hybrid (or mild hybrid) technology.

The Civic Hybrid was launched in the USA in February 2002 as a 2003 model, based on the seventh-generation Civic. Its styling and that of the conventional Civic were updated for 2004. The second-generation Civic Hybrid is patterned on the eighth-generation Civic, with styling differences.

The Civic Hybrid ranks as the second-best selling electric hybrid car in the USA.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a gasoline/electric hybrid version of the mid-size Ford Fusion sedan, developed by the Ford Motor Company and released on the US market in March 2009 as a 2010 model together with its twin, the Mercury Milan Hybrid. The Fusion Hybrid is manufactured at Ford’s Stamping & Assembly plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. In January 2010 the Fusion Hybrid won the 2010 North American Car of the Year Award at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The German automaker Audi has been building the Audi A3, a family car, since 1996. The A3 is now into its second generation, both being based on the Volkswagen Group “A” platform, which the A3 also shares with other models, such as the Audi TT, Volkswagen Golf, Caddy, and Touran, as well as the SEAT Leon and Toledo, and Škoda Octavia. The A3 2.0 TDI clean diesel that was unveiled at the 2009 North American International Auto Show was a version of Audi’s A3 2.0 TDI that was built especially for the North American market.