8 Cars You Should Be Driving On 'Earth Day'

1. BMW i8

Despite the i8’s ravenous hunger for Porsche 911s, it really is kind in other ways. For starters, it’s very slippery through the air, is relatively light in weight (1560kg thanks to its carbonfibre passenger cell) despite its heavy batteries, and can achieve a claimed 134.5mpg with CO2 emissions of just 49g/km.

Better yet, is that the faster and harder you drive, the more quickly you charge the batteries. As Clarkson says, then, “If you want to save the planet, drive fast.”

For more info, watch our entertaining i8 video:

2. Renault Twizy

While you’re highly unlikely to get a ride in this £1m, 97bhp Twizy F1, the road-going version is still all that it’s cracked up to be; nimble, punchy (below 40mph, at least), completely whacky and fully electric to keep Gaylord Nelson (Earth Day’s founder) smiling down on us from heaven (he died in 2005).

3. Volkswagen XL 1

Believe it or not, the XL1 is a production car (albeit currently limited in number to 200 of which only 30 are trickling in to the UK). It’s one of the most compassionate vehicles on this list, boasting 313mpg, a drag co-effiecient of 0.189 and a CO2 figure of just 21g/km.

Celebrating Earth Day in this car does take dedication, however. The price for this diesel-electric-powered slice of the future is an eye-watering £98,515.

4. Peugeot 208 BlueHDi

For something a little more modest and far more car-like, Earth Day fans might be pleased to hear that the 208 BlueHDi offers best in class fuel economy with 94.1mpg and 79g/km CO2.

Other great features of the car include seat belts and a top speed in excess of running pace.

5. Toyota Prius

You KNEW it was coming, so put your pitch forks down and step away from the keyboard! The Prius isn’t the most economical motor on this list (it only manages an appalling 72.4mpg) and it’s quite hateful to drive on motorways and B-roads, but supporters of Earth Day will think that you’re doing your bit for mother nature.

To be fair to it, though, it’s a great car to drive in town because it’s very comfortable, near-silent and good on the wallet. Why else would every other taxi driver have one?

6. Mazda MX-5...

…For the simple reason that The Answer Is Always Miata.

7. Tesla Model S

The Tesla Model is arguably the easiest-to-live-with electric car. It also looks like a sexy normal car (unlike the Nissan Leaf), and boasts a range in excess of 275 miles (we got 200 miles out of a single charge during our epic London to Paris drive in winter).

To keep petrolheads and Earth Day enthusiasts happy, opt for the full fat P85D for 691hp and a 0-60mph time of 3.1 seconds.

Here’s how we got on with the not-so-hot-but-still-damn-fast P85…

If all this talk of driving green cars has made you a little sad, then here’s a final entry with a twist. This evil Mercedes drift beast (aka Black Smoke) runs on diesel (which is good for mpg gains), but its fuel economy can be measured in feet per gallon, not miles!