Selection Criteria Cars

Methodology

Topten selects the best automobiles with combustion engines regarding environmental soundness, which are available in Europe. They are displayed in seven different categories; from minis to vans. Basis for the researches are type-testing-specifications. Only cars for which we receive all the necessary technical specifications from the producers can be considered for the list. More cars can be found on www.eco-auto.info (French, Italian and German). In this wider list only automobiles with CO₂ emissions of up to 150g/km are taken into consideration. The selection of Topten is based on the IFEU-study from 1997, which is regularly adapted to new scientific findings.

The minimum Eco points necessary for each category is listed below:

Ranking order

The selected cars are ranked according to the calculated Eco-points. Higher Eco-points show a better environmental compatibility. The order of presentation can be changed by clicking on "sort by".

Fuel price (€ for 100'000 km)

The fuel costs are calculated for a driving performance of 100'000 km, based on the fuel price of 1.20 Euro per litre for petrol and 1.10 Euro per litre diesel. Real prices can differ considerably from these assumptions as tax systems vary a lot between countries.

Eco rating

The Eco rating is based on available and comparable data on cars in terms of polluting emissions and noise. It is a multi-criteria analysis which allows to compare cars according to their impact on the environment and human health, on the basis of current scientific knowledge. Four types of environmental impacts have been defined and then weighted in order to form a rating for each car:

The ecological rating system for passenger cars which has been used since 1997 by ATE (Swiss association for traffic and environment) together with its sister organisations – the traffic associations of Germany and Austria - has been developed by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU) in Heidelberg, Germany, together with the German federal environmental agency, and it is based on the current knowledge of scientific data.

Eco stars

The Eco stars allow a quick judgement on the ecological compatibility of an automobile. For the maximum of 5 stars 68 ecopoints are needed.

Fuel

Fuel with which the results of the rating have been calculated: petrol, diesel or natural gas.

Fuel (l or kg per 100 km)

Total fuel consumption, measured according to the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC ECE 15 EUDC) in litres for diesel or petrol and in kilogrammes for natural gas.

CO₂ (g/km)

CO₂ emitted for each driven kilometre.

Noise magnitude (dB(A))

Noise magnitude when driving.

Seats

The maximum number of seats is indicated (also for models with the possibility to vary the number).

Available in countries

Availability of models in European countries. "EU" means all countries of the European Union. "On demand" means, that producers could not indicate the availability and that consumers have to ask in their countries on their own. The country codes are according to ISO.

Infoplus

Publications

• Eco-Auto (in German, French or Italian). The VCS (Swiss mobility association) assesses cars according to their CO2-, pollution and noise emissions. VCS Verkehrsclub der Schweiz.
• Topten - calculating the eco points (short version)
• Topten – environmental rating system for cars (longer version)

Producers, importers and wholesalers who think some of their models should be included in the Topten lists are kindly asked to inform the editors from Topten (info(at)topten.info).

March 2022 Berger-Wey, Michel