Although the irruption of the Low Emission Zones is taking place with less urgency and intensity than expected, the threat of restrictions in 149 Spanish towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants that each time will cover larger areas and will be more severe, depending on the environmental labeling of the DGT, has already caused drivers to begin to consider making the leap to a car with an ECO label.
Last year, at least one in four vehicles registered in Spain had an ECO label. In fact, from these same lines we have already defended that hybrid cars that, of course, have an ECO label, are the smart purchase in 2023.
Now, although the full hybridsfor its advantages, and price, are gaining an increasingly better position to its diesel and gasoline alternativesThey are still more expensive. And the inflation itself, which is increasing the price of new cars, and putting an end to the concept of a cheap car, does not help many buyers, who alternatives with the second-hand ECO label are being considered to renew your car.
1. CNG: the most risky option with the ECO label
The most risky option, and one that we would not recommend at this time, comes from the bifuel CNG cars, which can run interchangeably with compressed natural gas and gasoline. Brands such as SEAT or Volkswagen promoted a technology that, despite having enjoyed very modest sales, has achieved that today there is an offer of CNG vehicles on the second-hand market.
The problem, and the reason why we consider it a risky option, is the upward trend in the CNG price, which currently stands at €1.82/kilogram, and its high variability, which has led it to €3/kilogram last year. To make matters worse, the availability of CNG is not as high as that of other fuels. And if we value the purchase of cars like those marketed in their day by the Volkswagen Group brands, we will find that, in their commitment to CNG, they were designed with small gasoline tanks. So, to face a rise in CNG prices, we will have to use gasoline most of the time, with a very small tank, which will force us to go through the gas station continuously.
In it used catalog of What car should I buy?We currently have lists of 54 CNG cars with the SEAT ECO label:
2. LPG: the most economical ECO label
As in CNG vehicles, LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas in automobiles, is also used in bifuel configurations, in engines that can run on either gasoline or LPG. Although LPG prices have also skyrocketed, LPG stands at €1.01 at the time of writing this article, compared to €1.63/liter for gasoline. With which LPG continues to be a more economical and profitable option that, as if that were not enough, allows us to have a car with an ECO label.
As we told you, Today it is perhaps the best option to find a second-hand car with an ECO label and a very tight budget.. It is relatively easy to find vehicles for less than €10,000 and for less than €15,000. Among other things thanks to the fact that for years some brands have marketed LPG versions in volume and economic products, such as the Dacia Sandero, the Opel Corsa, or the Renault Clio.
Below we have compiled a selection of used cars with ECO and LPG label from the catalog of What car do I buy?
3. Microhybrids: ECO label with a trick?
The essence of the microhybrid is simple. Using a support electric motor, which is normally not capable of moving the vehicle by its own means, which continues to move only thanks to its internal combustion engine, many manufacturers have managed to improve the consumption of their cars but, above all, benefit from the fact that these mechanics receive the ECO label.
The interesting thing about this option is that it is not a very complex solution and, therefore, it is not too expensive. Also that the range of internal combustion engines that can be combined and found on the market is really wide, with small gasoline blocks, diesel, or even large and powerful six and eight-cylinder engines. Which is why, for many, including ourselves, the assignment of environmental labels is flawed, allowing polluting engines to exist with fewer restrictions than small, low-polluting engines that are not microhybrids.
The growth that microhybrids have experienced in recent years allows us to find cars with few kilometers, and one or two years, for less than €15,000 and €16,000. In it used catalog of What car should I buy? we find above all a wide range of Koreans (especially Kia) and Fiat 500.
4. Full hybrids: the ideal option
They are all advantages. Full hybrids benefit from the ECO label, but also from having reliable and safe mechanics, very economical and, in many cases, comfortable, which use “automatic” gearboxes and which seem to be the ideal option for the city. It would be our most recommended choice. And thanks to the growth that hybrids have experienced in recent years there is a sufficiently extensive offer of second-hand hybrid cars with the ECO label.
If we want to go for the safest option, Toyota is, by far, the option that offers the most guarantees, as it is the brand that has been promoting hybrid cars for the longest years, and with the greatest impetus, and also the brand that sells the most hybrid cars. and has sold in Spain.
In What car do I buy? Toyota hybrids can be found second-hand for less than €14,000, especially urban options like the Toyota Yaris, but also a larger compact like the Toyota Auris.
