Perhaps its indicative of the Toyota Prius’s standing in the green car world that it is seen as the standard bearer that most new vehicles aim to surpass. However, the Ford Fiesta is one vehicle that appears to have edged out its rival.
According to Australia’s GoAuto, the new Ford Fiesta Econetic diesel, which has fuel consumption of 63.6mpg under the Australian combined fuel test cycle, has lower fuel consumption than the third generation Prius at 60mpg under the same test cycle.
The petrol-powered Prius does retain the edge over its rival when it comes to offering the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of any car on the Australian market at 89g/km – primarily due to the differences in petrol and diesel fuels. By contrast, the Ford Fiesta Econetic diesel has an emissions rating of 98g/km.
Australian vehicle emission standards and fuel cycle testing generally reflect the international standards that were developed by the United Nations and were adopted in Europe and are known as Euro standards. An updated version came into effect in October last year for vehicle models sold for the first time from April 2009 onwards in the Australian market.
