‘Real world’ independent car mpg rates are now available on the Fleet News' website.

Fleet News has partnered with Emissions Analytics to provide its EQUA Index figures on mpg rates and CO2 emissions in a new tool, ‘Car CO2 calculator’.

Our tool allows you to compare official mpg figures provided by manufacturers and mpg figures provided by Emissions Analytics, gained through multiple repeats of rural, urban and extra-urban roads using a portable measuring system, recording tailpipe emissions.

“The current type approval test, required before a car can go on sale, is conducted in a laboratory on the new European driving cycle (NEDC),” said Nick Molden, Emissions Analytics' chief executive and founder.

“This is a cycle of less than 20 minutes with low average speeds, low rates of acceleration, no gradients and therefore tests the performance of the vehicle with the engine under relatively low load.

“Real-world driving typically puts higher loads on the engine, but this remains largely untested. In addition, the official test protocol contains a number of leniencies and grey areas that can be exploited and optimised to achieve low emissions performance.”

Fleet News will also be using the ‘real world’ figures in its road tests, enabling fleet decision-makers to make more informed decisions on vehicle choice and the impact it has on the environment and company bottom line.

The data is available for a range of cars up to five years old.

> More information on Equa Index testing

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