The majority of car buyers in the UK believe that diesel-powered cars are far less environmentally friendly than hybrid models despite emission levels that suggest otherwise.
A recent survey carried out by YouGov and commissioned by Mini, was conducted to determine the general public’s understating of CO2-related issues in the car purchase process.
Over 2,000 people took part in the survey, which found that just three per cent thought that a diesel-fuelled car could be considered a low source of carbon emissions and rated diesel as an unclean fuel .
Respondents were asked to select one car out a list of five that they thought was the lowest-emitting model.
A quarter of the sample thought the Honda Civic Hybrid was the lowest carbon-emitting vehicle from the list, which included the Toyota Prius, Mini Cooper D, Ford Focus 1.6 Duratorq TDCi and Citroen C4 1.6 HDi.
Remarkably, only two per cent believed the Mini Cooper was top of the list, despite it having a 104 g/km carbon emission level compared to the Honda Civic Hybrid’s 109 g/km.
Andy Hearn, general manager of Mini UK, said: "By developing sustainable diesel technology, Mini engineers have proved that you can have a low emissions car without compromising on driving characteristics and style ."
