Off the band wagon

In-Depth

Steps have been taken to shame 4x4 users into thinking green and ‘SUVs with a conscience’ are coming on to the market, but questions over pedestrian safety remain. Julia Pierce reports

Despite what their owners think of them, 4x4s have never been the most popular vehicles on the road.

Disliked by many for their fuel consumption, emissions and their sheer volume of metal, they now face a further indignity before they have even set a wheel to the school run: the official badge of eco-shame.

From 1 September, the government has announced that all vehicles in car showrooms will have to display an A4 card containing data on their CO2 emissions and estimated fuel costs for travelling 12,000 miles.

As with white goods, the vehicles will be placed in efficiency bands from A to F. Each band corresponds to the amount of road tax the new owner will pay under the existing Variable Excise Duty (VED), the aim being to encourage shoppers to think of the environmental cost of their purchase. While leaner burners will be badged with various shades of green, petrol and diesel guzzlers will be forced to display their guilt in embarrassing crimson.

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