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Here’s a cheeky philosophical teaser for you: is it possible for green stuff to be interesting?
We don’t mean ‘green’ as in broccoli. Or algae. We mean environmental stuff. See, this Seat Ibiza Ecomotive has just managed a ridiculous 970 miles on a single tank of fuel, at an average consumption of 97.4mpg, in the hands of renowned eco-driver Gerhard Plattner on a cross-European drive.
That’s absurd. Nearly 100mpg, from a sensible small hatchback with seating for five (well, just about). 100mpg from a decent-looking, decent-driving supermini. Amazing stuff.
But we’re still struggling to be, y’know, excited about it. Maybe it’s because Seat admits that ‘at some points along the way on motorways, Platter brought the Ibiza up to cruising speeds of nearly 70mph’. Doesn’t exactly sound like a wild ride, does it?
Maybe it’s because headline figures like ‘1.4-litre turbodiesel’ and ‘79bhp’ don’t really grab the imagination as much as, say, ‘800bhp’ and ‘twin-turbo V8’.
We’re not quite sure. What do you reckon? Can green ever be truly interesting? Or is it inherently just a bit more boring than bad, evil, fun, polar-bear-strangling stuff? Let’s settle this one right now...
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What do you think?
Want to comment on this?
Puma2000 commented on this article
at 02:49 pm on 07 May 2009
Got bored after reading the title...
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Takk commented on this article
at 03:37 pm on 07 May 2009
For everyday commuting, yeah. Very interesting. For the weekend... well... no, not a bit. Although I'm far more interested in small cars that do a lot with not a lot, than in those 800 bhp bullies. They seem outdated somehow, like dinosaurs. Jezza already said it: a 500 Abarth is more fun on public roads than any Ferrari, to be honest.
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dafe commented on this article
at 04:15 pm on 07 May 2009
Everyday and weekend? Interesting. For one we have the technical convergence of public and individual transport (you know, driverless cars, telematics and stuff gradually integrating..). In addition we might get an even broader divergence of everyday bread and butter vs. sex at the weekend. Dull transportation (efficiency) vs. explosion-based motoring (lust). The Seat appears as an example not of extreme but at the crossroad.
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Turbomatic commented on this article
at 04:21 pm on 07 May 2009
Brilliant but boring, I mean who cares, and if you are the one person who does, why are you on the TOP gear site of all places
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JES0381 commented on this article
at 07:09 pm on 07 May 2009
'renowned eco-driver Gerhard Plattner' - are you sure? Can you actually be both an 'eco-driver' and renowned? Sounds like a fascinating profession!!
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