OREANDA-NEWS. October 14, 2011. SEB Liising held green car test drives during the Tartu Motoshow, in order to determine the most economical car in terms of average fuel consumption among a range of eco-friendly models. Skoda Octavia ranked first among the cars tested, with an average fuel consumption of 3.2L/100 km during a 15-kilometre test drive in the city and on roads outside Tartu, reported the press-centre of SEB.

“It is not true that the smaller the car, the more economical it is. SEB’s test to find the most economical car showed that a mid-size family car can surprise you with very low fuel consumption. 3.2L/100km means that a family will pay about EUR 4 to travel 100 kilometres, given current fuel prices. An average family car could easily need EUR 10 worth of fuel to travel the same distance, which means significant savings,” said Mr Ainar Leppanen, head of SEB Liising. “Considering that a leasing customer drives 30 000 km a year on average, you can save up to EUR 1800 a year on fuel alone if you own a green car. An eco-friendly car is better not just for the natural environment, but clearly also for the customer’s wallet.”

SEB tested cars with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 130g/km or below. Skoda Octavia won and Renault Scenic ranked second, followed closely by Mazda 2 – the latter two have a fuel consumption of 4.4L/100 km and 4.5L/100 km respectively, which is half of the average consumption of non-green cars.

SEB is the first in Estonia to offer more favourable leasing terms to retail banking customers, if the car purchased is environmentally friendly (i.e. the vehicle’s CO2 emissions are up to 130g/km). The offer applies to new vehicles.

SEB also considers environmental friendliness in the selection of company cars. All new SEB company cars must have an emission level below 130g/km.