The Dacia Duster, Small Sports utility Vehicle, is another winner at this years annual Green Apple Awards

• Dacia Duster collects Small SUV title at the 2016 Green Apple Awards
• Second consecutive time Duster has won the award
• Praised for its no-frills approach to motoring
• Sixth annual awards from the not-for-profit organisation

The Dacia Duster won the Small SUV title at the sixth annual Green Apple Awards this morning at the Houses of Parliament. The ‘shockingly affordable’ Duster was voted into first place for the second consecutive year thanks to its affordability and ruggedness and running costs.

The automotive-based honours at The Green Apple Awards, organised by the Midlands-based The Green Organisation, are judged by members of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers. Marks were awarded by judges for the way a car drives and behaves in the real world, away from the testing laboratory.

One of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers said: "It’s cheap, it’s cheerful, it’s rugged and does what it says on the tin without any fuss or needless frills. The running costs are great, as is the price to buy or lease.”

Louise O’Sullivan, Head of Dacia UK said: “We’re delighted the Duster has once again been recognised by such a well-respected environmental group as the Green Organisation. The Duster underwent a facelift earlier this year and its popularity amongst the British public has shown no signs of slowing.

“It has been challenging preconceptions since launch thanks to Dacia’s no frills approach to motoring and impressive reliability. The Green Apple judges have proved just how economical the Duster is, too.”

Dacia has been a real success story in the UK since its launch in 2013 finding over 88,000 customers thanks to the brand’s clear value for money and no-nonsense approach. Duster, the tough SUV, has struck a particular chord with Britons having seen 6,905 sales in the first 10 months of the year alone – up 20.4 per cent on the same period last year.

The multiple award-winning Duster has been a part of the Dacia range since the brand’s launch in the UK in January 2013 and is the most affordable SUV on the UK market – priced from £9,495 with the Green Apple Award-winning dCi 110 4x2 starting at £12,495. The dCi 110 4x2 outputs 115g/km of CO2 and offers up to 64.2mpg (NEDC Combined). The Duster is available in a choice of four trim levels, with 1.6-litre naturally aspirated or 1.2-litre turbo charged petrol or 1.5-litre dCi diesel engines and in 4x2 or 4x4 set-ups.

The Green Organisation, based in Northamptonshire, was established in 1994 as an international, independent, non-profit, non-political, non-activist environment group, dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world and invites entries from all parts of industry for its annual Green Apple Awards.

The small car master, Suzuki, does it again with the Celerio taking one of the awards at the Green Apple Environmental Awards.

Award for Celerio from The Green Organisation

The Celerio Dualjet has won another accolade at the annual Green Apple Environmental Awards held at the House of Commons on 11^th November. The awards, organised by The Green Organisation cover many different industries and the Automotive category is judged by the Midland Group of Motoring Writers.

Chairman of the Midland Group, Ian Donaldson comments: “This is the sixth year we have saluted the greenest cars you can buy and, crucially, enjoy owning and driving. 

Our prize winners are chosen by our 27 members whose words are read across 400 media outlets both in print and online all over the UK and beyond”.

Launched in the UK in February 2015, the supermini champion for 2016 is the car that was runner-up last year - in the shape of the petrol powered Suzuki Celerio Dualjet.

The Celerio was again up against some strong competition and impressed the judges with one commenting "It is a remarkably driveable and economical city car."    

Priced at £8,649, the Celerio with its 1.0-litre Dualjet petrol engine enables it to attain 78.4mpg on the EC Combined fuel consumption cycle and achieve very low CO₂ emissions of just 84g/km. Dualjet technology positions the fuel injectors very close to the engine inlet valves and allows for a finer fuel atomisation (or mixture) which in turn provides a more effective transfer into the cylinder. 

For customers looking at a low deposit together with a low monthly payment option, Celerio is available with a range of highly competitive Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) offers until the end of 2016. As an example, the SZ2 at £6,999 is available for a deposit of £1,912 followed by 48 monthly payments of just £79 and an optional final payment of £2,322 to own the car. The SZ3 Dualjet model is available for a deposit of £2,168 with 48 monthly payments of £105 and a final optional payment of £2,718.

With its high levels of standard equipment, low cost of ownership and generous interior and luggage space the Celerio is proving very popular with UK customers with over 15,000 sold to date since launch.

The Renault ZOE has taken the top prize at the 2016 Green Apple Awards, judged by members of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers

The all-electric Renault Zoe has taken top honours at the 2016 Green Apple Awards, presented at the House of Commons and singling out cars that are both good to drive and economical in the real world.

The awards, presented on Friday (11 November) are organised by the Midlands-based The Green Organisation and judged by members of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers.

After clinching the category for pure electric and hybrid cars, the Zoe went to take the Green Apple champion title, beating a diesel version of the Audi A6 in second place overall.

One of the judges said of the Zoe: "It is by some measure the most convincing all-electric vehicle I've driven. So good, in fact, than it only takes a few miles to forget what's powering you along so convincingly."

Midland Group chairman Ian Donaldson presented a Renault representative with the top place award at the House of Commons.

MGMW Green Apple Awards in full

SUPERMINIS

The Mazda2 1.5 litre diesel had to be content with second spot this time, after a category win last year.

The supermini champion for 2016 is the car that was runner-up in 2015 - in the shape of the petrol powered Suzuki Celerio Dualjet.

One judge said: "It is a remarkably driveable and economical city car."

SMALLER FAMILY CARS

 Second place went to the Honda Civic 1.6 i-DETC, chosen, as one of the judges said, "because it is stylish, good to drive and refined, and one of the most genuinely economical cars in its class."

The winner is another British-built hatch - the new Vauxhall Astra 1.6 CDTi 110 Ecoflex.

A Midland Group judge commented: "The new Astra shows there's lots of life left in diesels."

LARGER FAMILY CARS

Here, the fight was, perhaps not surprisingly, between a couple of cars from Germany.

In the end second place went to the BMW 320d ED with the winner emerging as the Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI Bluemotion.

SMALLER SUVs and 4x4s

A whole year has not been able to shake the judges from their 2015 decisions.

That means in second spot we have the Nissan Qashqai 1.5dCi 110 2WD while the winner - for the second consecutive year - is the Dacia Duster 1.5 dCi 110 4x2.

A judge said of the Dacia: "It’s cheap, it’s cheerful, it’s rugged and does what it says on the tin without any fuss or needless frills. The running costs are great, as is the price to buy or lease."

PURE ELECTRIC AND HYBRID CARS

The Uber driver's favourite Toyota Prius drives quietly into second spot.

The winner this year, though, is the Renault Zoe, the French car maker's entry into affordable purely electric family transport.

EXECUTIVE CARS

In second place is the impressive Jaguar XF E-Performance but it has to give way to this year's winner, for the second year in a row - the Audi A6 2.0 TDI Ultra.

One of our judges said: "The Audi has a build quality that is second to none. Love the handsome looks, the logical switchgear – the fuel tank that keeps on giving – and the effortless mile munching, planted drive."

OVERALL GREEN APPLE CHAMPIONS for 2016  

In second spot was the Audi A6.

A judge said: "It offers performance, practicality prestige, frugality and a fit and finish that justifies the price-tag."

But taking the top step this year is the Renault Zoe.

A judge said: "The Zoe shows Renault's commitment to the future of electric power in an affordable package that looks good, drive well and does its bit to make the planet a little bit greener."

The Suzuki Celerio Dualjet takes a silver at The Green Organisation Awards ceremony 2015.

SUZUKI TAKES ANOTHER BITE OF THE GREEN APPLE

Green Organisation Award for Celerio

The Celerio Dualjet has won a Silver award at the annual Green Apple Environmental Awards held at the House of Commons this week. The awards are organised by The Green Organisation and judged by the Midland Group of Motoring Writers.

Chairman of the Midland Group, Ian Donaldson comments: “This is the fifth year we have saluted the greenest cars you can buy and, crucially, enjoy owning and driving. Our prize winners are chosen by our 28 members whose words are read across 400 media outlets in print and on the web all over the UK and beyond”.

Launched in the UK in February of this year, Celerio took second prize in the Supermini category, beating some strong competition by impressing the judges with its great drive and impressive real world fuel economy and with one judge commenting. “A budget priced, roomy car with an easy to drive engine which makes getting good economy simple."

Another said: "The Celerio Dualjet gave me more than 80mpg on a test drive, trying quite hard to be economical, but better than 70mpg should be easily possible without trying hard at all."

Priced at £8,499, the Celerio with its 1.0-litre Dualjet petrol engine enables it to attain 78.4mpg on the EC Combined fuel consumption cycle and achieve very low CO₂ emissions of just 84g/km. Dualjet technology positions the fuel injectors very close to the engine inlet valves and allows for a finer fuel atomisation (or mixture) which in turn provides a more effective transfer into the cylinder. 

With its high levels of standard equipment, low cost of ownership and generous interior and luggage space the Celerio is proving very popular in the UK with over 7,000 sold to date.

For new car customers looking at a low deposit and low monthly payment option, Celerio is available with a range of highly competitive PCP offers until the end of the year. As an example, the SZ2 at £6,999 is available for a deposit of £1,721 followed by 42 monthly payments of just £79 and an optional payment of £2,809 to keep the car. The SZ3 Dualjet model is available for a deposit of £1,934 and 42 monthly payments of £103 with a final optional payment of £3,271.

Volkswagen takes the over top prize, in this years 5th annual, green Apple Awards held at the Houses of Parliament.

VOLKSWAGEN has won the top Green Apple Award for the way one of its models is both environmentally friendly and good to drive. 

The awards are made by The Green Organisation, a not for profits group which invites entries from all parts of industry, presented at the Houses of Parliament each autumn.

Midland Group of Motoring Writers members are asked to choose winners in the automotive part of the Green Apple Awards.

Overall winner in 2015 - the fifth year of the awards - is the Volkswagen Golf GTE, which is powered by a combination of petrol engine and electric motor.

The award was made at a ceremony in the terrace pavilion of the Houses of Parliament today (Monday 16 November).

The Golf GTE beat another VW Group car, a Skoda Fabia diesel into second place overall.

One Midland Group judge said of the winning Golf GTE: "It’s engineered like a Volkswagen, feeling solid and safe, while the hybrid system returns some superb figures when driven like a hybrid should be. 

For those days where there’s an empty country road, it turns in to a proper GTi, handling the extra weight with aplomb and proving you don’t need to make many compromises to produce a viable green choice."

The awards, which also features a SEAT model from another arm of the VW Group, comes at a time when Volkswagen is embroiled in a huge emissions scandal, starting in the United States

Midland Group chairman Ian Donaldson told the guests at the awards ceremony: "Twelve months ago it would have sounded like the plot of a bad Hollywood movie to suggest one of the world's biggest car companies might be involved in skulduggery on such a scale that the news bounced round the world, saw share prices tumble and a chief executive retire with a stain on his reputation.

"Today the VW emissions scandal rumbles on as lawyers and law makers work on bringing the culprits to book and ensuring we learn something from the debacle.

"I will leave the court cases to the legal teams who must, as we speak, be rooting out evidence for actions that are going to keep my learned friends busy for years."

He added: "What we can say with some certainty is that the way all car companies approach the measurement of the gases that come from the exhaust pipes of the cars they build will be changed to be more representative of the real world.

"That's being addressed by - you've guessed - an official committee. But they have been taking their time. I expect the VW rumpus has acted as a hurry up call. I hope so."

Category winners of the 2015 Green Apple Awards

Superminis

Winner: Mazda2 1.5 Skyactiv-D

Runner-up: Suzuki Celerio 1.0 Dualjet

Smaller family cars

Winner: Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI

Runner-up: Citroen C4 Cactus 1.6 BlueHDi.

Larger family cars

Winner: BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics

Runner-up: SEAT Leon 1.6 TDI Ecomotive

Smaller SUVs

Winner: Dacia Duster 1.5 dCi

Runner-up: Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi

Electric hybrids or pure electric vehicles

Winner: Volkswagen Golf GTE

Runner-up: Tesla Model S

Executive cars

Winner: Audi A6 2.0 TDI Ultra

Runner-up: Jaguar XF diesel

Green Apple champion for 2015

Winner: Volkswagen Golf GTE

Runner-up: Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI

The Green Apple Awards, Winners, and losers, and some weird choices.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a compelling winner

Mitsubishi's big but frugal Outlander PHEV has taken top spot in a set of awards for cars that mix modest thirst and emissions with the ability to entertain their drivers and keep running costs down in the real world.

The Green Apple Awards were presented on Monday (10 November) at the House of Commons. They are organised by the Midlands-based The Green Organisation and were judged by members of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers.

Midland Group chairman Ian Donaldson said: "When The Green Organisation asked us for our current green champions we wanted to go further than some other awards and look beyond the official figures and rank our favourites in the real world, taking into account how they performed in our hands."

One judge said of the Outlander PHEV: "Many car firms have claimed to have introduced a ground breaker in the past 12 months but this one really is. It embraces everything that’s good about new technology without compromise and has the potential to save you a small fortune. Mitsubishi’s decision to price it the same as diesel is the real clincher."

Second place overall went to the diesel engined Honda Civic, which judges said astonished them with its real world economy.

MGMW Green Apple Awards results in full

Superminis:

In silver position was the Suzuki Swift. It was described by one judge as 'reasonably frugal but balances that by being a hoot to drive while remaining a really honest car; there’s nothing pretentious about the model, it just looks good, is well built, has plenty of kit and sips at the fuel no matter how much fun you’re having.'

Winner in this category is the Skoda Citigo. One judge said: 'I've chosen the Citigo because...  it's a great drive, thoroughly practical with low consumption and a price tag to match.' Another said: 'The Citigo is a perfect demonstration of how a car can be economical, inexpensive, beautifully built and a pleasure to drive.'

Smaller family cars:

Another hard fought category this year with a long term favourite in second spot, in the shape of the Renault Clio. One judge said of the Clio: 'Good looks combine with an extremely frugal and fun to drive diesel engine to put the Clio near the top of anyone's list.'

Top spot goes to the Honda Civic with the 1.6 litre diesel engine. It was described by one judge thus: "The Civic 1.6 diesel provides real-world fuel economy that is staggering, even sipping less fuel than hybrids, while still providing enough performance to keep most drivers happy. A superb all-rounder."

Larger family cars:

In second spot is the BMW 3 Series, specifically the 320d version, while first place in 2014 goes to... the Peugeot 308. Here is a car that shows Peugeot is coming back on form, with a complete package that moved one judge to say: "I've chosen it because... style meets economy with no corners cut. A simply delightful car."

Smaller SUVs:

A long standing favourite makes it into second spot this time, in the still highly stylish shape of the Range Rover Evoque in eD4 Pure form. One judge said of the Evoque: "Still looking so stylish and still enjoying the enviable position of being both environmentally responsible and lusted after by its buyers."

Pole position goes to the latest version of the Nissan Qashqai. It was described by one judge as "superb quality, superb drive and awesome economy. A formidable family car."

Electric hybrids or pure electric vehicles:

We salute one of the brave pioneers, with the Vauxhall Ampera in second place. A judge said: "The Ampera can be proud of the way it has shown that family cars can be both very green and make a sound case for everyday family transport."

Topping this category is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The Outlander was described by a Midland Group voter as "the sort of car that gives big 4x4s a good name and makes an utterly compelling business case for a lot of potential users."

Executive cars:

Midland Group members love the Jaguar XF and voted the diesel version into second place this time. We loved the way the XF continues to add a dash of British style to the roads of the world while returning the sort of real world economy considered the realm of smaller cars not so long ago.

In top spot in this category was the Audi A6. As one judge said: "BMW has led the way here for ages, but finally Audi has responded with the new ultra range. Powerful, economical and well priced, they’re a big step on and mean the ball is now in the court of its rivals."

Overall Green Apple champion for 2014 

There was strong support for two of our category winners, with an honourable silver place going to the Honda Civic, a car that continues to astonish drivers with its real world fuel economy. 

Our overall winner is... the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. 

One judge wrote: "Many car firms have claimed to have introduced a ground breaker in the past 12 months but this one really is. It embraces everything that’s good about new technology without compromise and has the potential to save you a small fortune. Mitsubishi’s decision to price it the same as diesel is the real clincher."