Three of Australia’s best-selling vehicles are thirstier and dirtier on the road than in the lab, according to the latest real-world vehicle tests.
The context: The Australian Automobile Association on Wednesday revealed its road test results for 15 more vehicles, ranging from small SUVs to 4x4s.
While six out of 15 vehicles used less or as much fuel as promised, nine vehicles used more gasoline or diesel on the road, including one exceeding its estimate by seven percent.
Alarmingly, four of the vehicles tested also produced more harmful emissions than allowed in laboratory testing.
The key quote: “We can now say with certainty that while some vehicles produce fuel economy and emissions consistent with laboratory tests reported by car manufacturers, many do not,” said Michael Bradley, chief executive of the Australian Automobile Association (AAA).
What else to know: Three of the country’s best-selling utes were driven on the roads around Geelong, Victoria, in the latest tests and all consumed more diesel than expected and produced more nitrogen oxide than allowed in the laboratory tests.
The current model Ford Ranger 4×4 ute exceeded the lab’s NOx limit by 26 percent, while the 2023 Isuzu D-Max 4×2 ute and 2024 4×4 ute exceeded the limit by more than 50 percent.
What happens next? The latest data brings the number of vehicle tests AAA conducted to 58 in its first year, and Bradley said the results prove testing is needed.
