The Mercedes-Benz Smart fortwo electric drive has been named the greenest vehicle for the third straight year by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) Wednesday.
The Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG was the least environmentally friendly, according to ACEEE's annual ratings.
The council tested all 2016 models, assigning a green score to each, which is comprised of lifetime pollution output, from manufacturing-related smog, tailpipe emissions, fuel sourcing and transportation.
The Smart fortwo, with a lithium-ion battery, gets 2.77 mpg and received a green score of 63, up from 61 last year.
The Chevrolet Spark EV (63) and Fiat 500E (62) rounded out the top 3 spots. Three different vehicles from the Prius line made the top 10. ACEEE did not score any Volkswagen, Audi or Porsche diesel models because of the emissions scandal the brands are embroiled in.
For the first time in the 19 years that ACEEE has been publishing the rankings, every car in the top 12 is a plug-in or hybrid.
"Plug-in electric vehicles are outpacing all other vehicle offerings in terms of environmental friendliness," said ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan. "Fortunately, the electricity sector is slated to become cleaner over the life of model year 2016 vehicles, thanks to the Clean Power Plan, and that has bumped electric vehicles' green scores this year."
Greenest cars
- Mercedes-Benz Smart fortwo EV Convertible/Coupe (63)
- Chevrolet Spark EV (63)
- Fiat 500E (62)
- Toyota Prius Eco (61)
- Volkswagen E-Golf (61)
- Nissan Leaf S / Leaf SV (61)
- Kia Soul Electric (59)
- Toyota Prius C (59)
- Toyota Prius (58)
- Ford Focus Electric (57)
- Chevrolet Volt (56)
- Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid (56)
ACEEE also released a list of "Greener Choices", cars that are more practical for consumers as "many of the vehicles on the Greenest list are not widely available."
Greener choices
- Toyota Prius Eco (61)
- Toyota Prius C (59)
- Mercedes-Benz Smart fortwo Convertible/Coupe (55)
- Chevrolet Spark (54)
- Toyota Prius V (54)
- Honda Fit (53)
- Ford C-Max Hybrid (51)
- Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid (48)
- Chevrolet Trax (47)
- Ford Transit Connect Van (42)
- Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (42)
- Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon (40)
The Meanest List is the vehicles with the lowest ratings. It is filled with trucks, exotic sports cars and five Mercedes-Benz SUVs.
Meanest vehicles
- Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG (20)
- Chevrolet/GMC G2500 Express/Savana (Passenger) (MDPV) (22)
- Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG (22)
- Bentley Mulsanne (23)
- Mercedes-Benz G550 (23)
- Toyota Sequoia FFV (25)
- Ford Transit T150 Wagon FFV (25)
- Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG (25)
- Lexus LX 570 (26)
- Bentley Continental GT Convertible / Flying Spur (26)
- Toyota Tundra (26)
- Mercedes-Benz GL550 4Matic (26)