Demonised diesel Land Rover Discovery 4×4 found to be 20 times CLEANER than a Renault Clio as new emissions test reveals which cars really are dirty
By Paul Homewood
h/t Patsy Lacey
It appears Michael Gove has lost his main (supposed) reason for banning diesel and petrol cars:
The latest diesel Land Rover Discovery 4×4 – a car demonised for being dirty – is actually 20 times less polluting than a Renault Clio mini hatchback (also with a diesel engine), radical new independent emissions tests have revealed.
Remarkably, the British-built Land Rover finishes with a top ranking A-grade in the new car Air Index eco-rating scale carried out in the UK – suggesting it is one of the cleanest and greenest vehicles on the road despite it’s hulk-like size and Chelsea Tractor image.
By contrast the French Renault Clio hatchback – once famed for its popular ‘Papa and Nicole’ adverts – has been awarded the worst E-grade for being one of the most polluting.
The study adds to the evidence piling up in favour of diesel cars after tests by German motoring association ADAC last week found that the latest Euro6 models were producing little to no harmful nitrogen oxide emissions during real-world measurements.
There clearly need to be questions asked as to how cars like the Clio, itself supposedly Euro 6, can fail this test so badly. This maybe suggests lack of proper application of the new standards and monitoring by French authorities.
But the exercise does indicate that, with recent technological advances and rigorous application of standards, emissions from diesels can be brought down to extremely low levels.
As the Mail comments:
Their results call into question the controversial demonisation of diesel by politicians and green groups – and threatened with being banned from city centres – which has seen sales of cars using the fuel slump by about a third.
It follows similar tests carried out by independent body ADAC, which found that a new Euro6-rated diesel Mercedes family car produced zero NOx emissions during real-world tests, which a large BMW estate and Vauxhall Astra hatchback emitted barely any traces of the harmful pollutant.
This demonisation of diesel has already had drastic effects on the UK car industry, with the news that Honda is to shut down its Swindon factory and Nissan are abandoning plans to build the X-Trail here.
Unfortunately for Britain’s car industry, Michael Gove’s real reason for wanting to ban diesel and petrol engined cars is not the spurious excuse of air pollution. It is instead the government’s obsession with climate change.
We will see the devastating impact of that on the industry in years to come.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
Why are polliticos in chrage in the UK wasting their time and our money on combatting climate change when we produce, proportionately negligible CO2, 1.3% of the global total and the scientific proof of causes of adverse change is equally flimsy?
The whole corrupt endeavour is as misguided as it is bent, but for the UK to participate in the failed international effort is as kamikaze-like as it is misguided!
(Scotland’s 0.013% of global CO2 provides even less justification for her partiicipation)
It makes them feel good and like they are in control and doing something to save us. That the Morons of Parliament look like delivering an economic disaster on the UK because of their total ignorance of how the EU functions says all you need to know.
Ever since Cameron became P.M. it has become the case that expressing the desire to ‘lead the world in’ justifies what you say next e.g. climate change, clean energy, battery technology (fat chance).
Major dabbled with it, Blair picked up the ball and ran with it and Brown,’the Gruffalo’, in order to make himself seem soft, fluffy and right on, diasably abetted by his willing numpty Milliband, kicked the ball right out of the park with the Climate Change Act. Cameron merely continued the decline in critical thinking from our political masters to try and appeal to the metropolitan liberals who would never vote for him anyway, completely ignoring his core vote in the process. A policy that has continued under his successor, arguably the worst prime minister since the role was created. And that is saying something!
I think it’s because they aren’t spending their own money, they are spending ours. And no one spends other peoples money the same care that the owner of the money would do.
If we were left to decide the priorities, I doubt the climate scam or foreign aid would be high on the list. And that’s why the swamp dwellers never ask us for permission to spend our money.
!00% correct, except “flimsy” is very very kind! fabricated is more accurate.
We mustn’t forget our Government in energy and environmental aspects are run by the NGO’s who instruct what our Government policy should be. That is exactly what Gove etc. are up to. These NGO’s are nothing short of crooks who want to destroy our standard of living and take us back to the dark ages where there was starvation and ill health so the population will reduce.
You are spot on. Defra and the FCO are the worst for revolving door NGO’s. We also have NGO trojans in both the HoC and the Lords.
The first comment is particularly relevant to this report
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/first-minister-urged-action-tackle-134342846.html
But we get charged VED on the CO2 output NOT NOX ?
So where is the evidence that higher NOX levels, which I presume are temporary only at certain times of the day (going to work, morning & evening) in city centres where most people work inside buildings anyway, causes problems ?
How many people live openly on the streets in cities (and pay taxes) ?
The evidence is more computer studies that show that at least 40,000 people a year die “prematurely” in the UK due to these NOX and PM particles.
If you belive it you are more naive than I think.
Have you seen how clean the UK air is on average compared to the 1950s to 1970s?
It is about 75% to 90% cleaner now than then.
The UN & WHO make these limits and regularly reduce them, it is all Agenda 21, 2030 and Sustainability driven.
ps the HM Government published this data in 2017.
Click to access Emissions_of_air_pollutants_1990_2017.pdf
Hate to be boringly pedantic, but I am yet to see any evidence of a single death certificate being issued clearly stating, ‘Cause of Death: Inhalation of Nox and PM particles’. As for 40,000……. Just another made up claim from Fantasy Island where most of the emptiest and noisiest vessels in climate science seemed to have run aground.
I was brought up in B ‘ham in the ,’50’s and 60’s , I clearly remember going to school in Smog. We could only see a couple of feet in front of us and had to somehow make our way to the bus stop 200 yds away. The smog had an unlpleasant smell. I’m still here and all my family and friends. I wouldn’t advocate it though!
Mack, I went through the same period on the outskirts of London and those Smogs were something to behold, but not forget.
The smell of Sulphur was very strong, if you breathed through a white handkerchief it would be covered in dirty particles.
It realy was a case of only being able to see an arms length.
If you didn’t and then blew your nose you would find those same particles.
Those graphs I posted show 75% to 90% reduction from the 70s when the Clean Air Act had already started cleaning up the air, it would be nice to see it going back to the 50s.
Greens and their running dogs – Motto is “NO babies left un-ejected with the bathwater”.
Our main problem stems from the fact that we have only 5 MPs with a science or engineering background – most don’t have any background at all.
No backbone either
I’ve been saying this for years, you need to get the most suitable engine for both the size of the vehicle and its intended use.
eg.
If you only drive a few miles a day in the city then choose an EV.
If you do a 100 miles or so a week but most of that is urban/city and you don’t have kids and you don’t carry any weight then choose a small petrol engine in a small hatchback.
If you do a lot of motorway miles at a steady speed or you have a very heavy vehicle or you carry large payloads or tow heavy trailers/caravans then big diesels (2.0 litre and above) are the way to go.
Having a blunt taxation system based on a lab test of CO2 emissions which takes no account of varying payloads, wind resistance, different journey types or environmental conditions will often result in people choosing a more polluting fuel, engine or vehicle simply because the most appropriate for their use is more expensive to buy, tax or fill up.
Sadly our MP’s, the tax system, the media and most of the general public is geared to think only of headline (and largely irrelevant) figures achieved in lab tests. The result of which is that manufacturers are now offering small engine options on relatively large/heavy cars (even ‘small’ modern hatchbacks are much heavier than 30 years ago). While the little engine performs well on a bench test in a lab, it will almost certainly produce horrific emissions (whether CO2 or NOx) in real world driving. Conversely larger engines will often be less stressed in real world driving and produce less emissions.
The Discovery being cleaner than the Clio is largely down to using Adblue.
It enables Land Rover to meet EU6 emissions legislation by reducing the levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emitted from the exhaust system by up to 90%.
https://www.landrover.co.uk/ownership/adblue.html
Small diesel cars don’t have that for cost reasons.
Paul: You’re just gonna love the HoC debate on climate change – with Caroline Lucas demanding (!!) the UK decarbonise to zero. My radio just survived being thrown in the bin (it’s too big.) Ref: R4 PM today.
I we de-carbonize to zero, what will trees and plants do for their daily intake? Or maybe I’m missing something?
If past policies are anything to go by I think our inept governments will achieve this quite soon because:
1) All our manufacturing will move to China and India – already happening
2) All our service industry will move to India, US or Europe – already happening
3) All our power stations will be closed down – already happening
4) All internal combustion engine vehicles will be banned – already planned
5) All EV’s will be sat going nowhere with no electricity to charge them – (see 3)
6) The population will be reduced by starving or freezing to death – already happening
7) The remaining population will be reduced further in a civil war – this one is a prediction
8) Any remaining population will be reduced further in a war against the religion of peace – another prediction
9) With no population left to feed, our agricultural and fishing industry will cease to exist
10) Anything left worth saving will be swallowed up by the new super sized Germania (previously the EU)
There you go, perfectly possible if we continue following current government policy 😉 😉
So at times with the Eu imposed wind and solar nonsense, England has to depend on hospital; diesel generators at huge cost to keep the lights on, where will the power come from for these toy battery cars? each car will eat the power of a home on average, there isn’t the capacity for many. When the fad for wind and solar has run its enevitable course, so will these victorian relics- the battery car.
Caroline Lucas is only championing government policy i.e. the 2008 climate change act , that over 99% of our MP’s voted for. Therefore her views are completely in tune with received wisdom .
“Unfortunately for Britain’s car industry, Michael Gove’s real reason for wanting to ban diesel and petrol engined cars is not the spurious excuse of air pollution. It is instead the government’s obsession with climate change”
The Mail are to be congratulated on such a well researched report, but the man primarily responsible for the devastating announcement that he put out as Environment Secretary – obviously without any meaningful research- is of course Mr Gove. He is the man who stated that the government wish to ban all Internal combustion vehicles by 2040 in support of his buddy Lord Deben’s appeal for more battery funding, when Deben is under investigation for receiving personal donations from the battery industry.(Gove has not yet made any statement about Deben’s malfeasance and is still in his job!) Between them they have devastated the car industry in this country, leading to factory closures and to thousands of people losing their jobs, with the resultant massive hit on the tax income for the government. It is beyond belief that a cabinet minister can be so blinkered as not to have anticipated such injury to the country without have firm ground to support their public outpourings. We should now use pressure to force Mr Gove to make a statement to Parliament on his tragically failed judgement, in an attempt to put right one of the most serious and expensive failings of the government’s support for Green policies to date. I hope also that Mr Homewood will endeavour to keep this sad situation on the boil and keep up the pressure to force government to rescind their groundless and devastating statements.
Reblogged this on ajmarciniak.
A few weeks ago I took my Jaguar XE 2.0 Diesel for it’s first MOT. The probe was stuck in the exhaust, engine revved but the machine did not record a reading. This was repeated, still no reading. The tester removed the probe, blew down it and the machine recorded a reading allowing the test to proceed. So the car exhaust is cleaner than the testers breath.