Old and clean wins the race over new and green

By ROSALEEN MacBRAYNE

Sales of a new, "green" hybrid car are hitting the fast track, but there is still a place for Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons' battered old 1986 Mirage.

On paper, Toyota's new Prius petrol-electric car is far more environmentally friendly, but on the road, the MP's 18-year-old 1300cc Mitsubishi Mirage is probably a better bet, says Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of The Dog and Lemon Guide to used cars.

While theoretically kinder to the environment, the Prius transfers the pollution and excess fuel consumption back to the place of manufacture, he says.

"Depending on who is estimating it, between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of the energy that a car uses is consumed in the manufacturing process, and the majority of this energy is produced using coal, oil or atomic reactors.

"In other words, the 'green' car in Auckland is a major source of pollution and fuel consumption in Asia."

The Mirage was designed during the last fuel crisis, so it was lightly built and fuel-economic, even by comparison with the average newer car, he says.

Provided it was regularly tuned and driven gently, the Mirage represented reasonable fuel economy and not too many emissions.

It was undeniably far less fuel-economic and far more polluting than the Prius, but "because the Mirage is already in existence, it is probably better for the environment to maintain and use it rather than to trash it".

New cars like the Prius, and second-hand Japanese imports, account for a large percentage of New Zealand's imports and therefore its balance of payments deficit, says Mr Matthew-Wilson.

"By driving a cheap older car, Ms Fitzsimons is saving the country a significant amount of overseas debt."

In many ways the Prius is an attempt to legitimise the use of private vehicles for journeys that should really be made using public transport, he says.

Auckland's traffic problems were caused by people driving cars to work and would end when they made the same trips using buses.

"The Prius solves nothing. At least Ms Fitzsimons can legitimately claim that she lives in a rural area [Coromandel] where private cars are the only real option for travelling long distances."

One black mark against the Mirage is its safety.

"Not only are the seatbelts woefully inadequate, but the vehicle is very lightly built and is unlikely to protect its occupants in a serious collision," says Mr Matthew-Wilson.

Land Transport Safety Association spokesman Andy Knackstedt agrees.

Safety features had advanced "in leaps and bounds" in the past few years, and any 2003 or 2004 car would give more protection than an older model.

Naturally Paul Carroll, Toyota's general manager of sales in New Zealand, thinks the $43,000 hybrid is head and shoulders above any conventional car.

He says he "would hate to think" what a 1986 model car was emitting, technology having made huge advances since then.