You’ve heard of Euro NCAP, but what exactly is Green NCAP? Supported by the same New Car Assessment Program, it’s a vehicle evaluation program to determine how clean vehicles really are by subjecting them to various tests. The first results were published in early 2019, and since then, several BMWs have been analyzed by the organization.
The latest-generation 1 Series in the 118i front-wheel-drive guise received two and a half stars, thus mirroring an identical result for the mechanically related 2 Series Active Tourer in the 220i specification. The bigger 3 Series in the pre-LCI 320d flavor also earned two and a half stars while the previous-gen X1 only got two. Naturally, the now-defunct i3 got all five of them.
The Euro NCAP’s spinoff recently analyzed five new cars, and one of them was the 2 Series Coupe, codenamed G42. Specifically, it was a 220d in rear-wheel drive with an automatic transmission. It weighed 1,627 kilograms (3,587 pounds) and was equipped with 18-inch wheels wrapped around 225/45 R18 tires. Despite having a diesel engine – which is generally frowned upon in 2023 – it managed to earn a decent three-star rating. The car consumed only about 5 liters / 100 kilometers in the Cold and Warm Lab Tests and just 4.8 liters / 100 kilometers in the On-Road Drive test.
The BMW 220d Coupe was also subjected to a Highway Test during which it averaged 6.3 liters / 100 kilometers. Green NCAP notes that because of its diesel engine, the car had high N2O emissions, which the organization points out have “climate-damaging” consequences. With an average score of 55%, the compact sports coupe collected three green stars at the end of the evaluation.
As a refresher, the 220d Coupe uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine with 190 horsepower and an ample 400 Newton-meters (294 pound-feet) of torque. The sole diesel 2er comes exclusively in rear-wheel drive with an automatic transmission and does 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.9 seconds before topping out at 147 mph (237 km/h).
The other cars tested by Green NCAP during this latest round were the Volkswagen ID.5 (five stars), Mercedes C-Class (two and a half stars), Ford Tourneo Connect (two stars), and the Dacia Sandero (two and a half stars).
Source: Green NCAP