Six finalists vie for Green Car award
When it comes to cars, green comes in many hues.
They run the gamut, from those that run on pure battery power to some propelled by gasoline-fuelled V6 engines, and from bargainpriced subcompacts to luxurious super sedans that cost north of $125,000.
Which makes it extremely difficult to award a green car prize.
Still, a major step has been taken along that road with the announcement of six finalists for the 2014 Canadian Green Car Award.
The overall winner will be revealed next Friday, April 25, at the Green Living Show in Toronto’s Direct Energy centre.
This is the second year for the award, which I helped to organize, along with colleagues Eric Novak and Michael Bettencourt.
The aim is to recognize cars that have strong environmental attributes as well as potential massmarket appeal, since vehicles can only have a significant environmental impact if they sell in large numbers.
To achieve that goal the evaluation combined what we called “objective” criteria, such as fuel economy, emissions and price, with assessments by 19 of Canada’s top automotive journalists, who considered performance, driving experience, value and features, as well as the “green” qualities. Here are the finalists: Battery-electric: Nissan Leaf Plug-in hybrid: Ford C-Max Energi
Hybrid: (tie) Volkswagen Jetta Turbo and Honda Accord
Efficient internal combustion: Mazda3 2.0-litre Three-row: Mazda5 Why is it such a tough choice? Well, how do you directly compare a high-performance, battery-powered Tesla Model S with the lessspectacular but reduced-price Leaf or the impressive new Kia Soul EV?
Is the Porsche Panamera plug-in hybrid or Cadillac’s new ELR a more worthy candidate than the C-Max Energi?
Is Nissan’s big Pathfinder hybrid SUV a better choice than smaller and conventional family haulers like the Mazda5, which offer less room and fewer amenities but burn less fuel?
The simple answer is: you don’t think of it as black and white.
Instead, you create a consensus, using many pieces of information and expert points of view.
Some judges awarded higher scores to the super cars; others favoured the more overtly green fuel sippers or small electric vehicles. Some were in-between.
You can argue both ways: on one hand, the powerful luxury beasts draw attention to the great performance and features of green cars and, as “halo” vehicles, could drive interest in the lower-priced of- ferings. On the other, there’s something to be said for vehicles that many people could afford to get into right now and that, because of their smaller size and lower power, consume less fuel or electricity.
This year, the consensus favoured the smaller vehicles, but the scores revealed widely divergent views and the results were often very close — so close that we had to declare a tie between the Accord and Jetta in the Hybrid category. Some of the finalists are repeats from last year, which illustrates their strengths. But the competition also provided evidence we’re entering a new generation of vehicles that will challenge the more familiar names to become even better. One of these is the Soul EV, which finished a close second in its category. Brand new to Canada, and not in showrooms until fall, it offers a heating system that sucks much less energy from the battery, as well as the potential for considerably longer range than its current competitors. It’s the first of a wave of new EVs that should make the technology more visible and appealing, and set the bar higher for everyone. The process this year involved inviting the judges to submit five vehicles for each category. The top picks from those lists became the 16 nominees: four in the EV category, three in each of the others. This meant the competition was open to any vehicle, from a very long list that met minimum green criteri- a, based mainly upon fuel economy.
Eligibility no longer depends on whether a manufacturer is willing to pay a substantial entry fee.
This openness, in line with other global green car awards, makes the program a more meaningful gauge for consumers.
Apart from the finalists, the 16 entries included the Model S, Soul EV and Ford Focus in the battery category; the ELR and Panamera for plug-in hybrids; the Infiniti Q50 in hybrids, Chevrolet’s Cruze diesel and the Jetta TDI diesel in efficient internal combustion; and the Pathfinder hybrid and Kia Rondo in three-row vehicles.
The five finalists will be on display at the Green Living Show.
David Miller, president of WWF Canada and former mayor of Toronto, will present the overall winner’s trophy. wheels@thestar.ca