THE EMISSIONS CONUNDRUM

VehiclesV overall are getting cleaner but buyers prefer the dirty, thirsty ones

Unsurprisingly, America’s Jeep, Chrysler and RAM are on the naughty side of the ledger, joined by luxury marques Porsche and Maserati.

Rolls-Royce’s combination of enormous cars and huge engines results in the worst average emissions performance, followed by Lamborghini.

Even as individual cars get more efficient — a 2018 Toyota Corolla needs 0.7L less unleaded for 100km than a 2016 example – buyers are increasingly likely to choose bigger machines.

Passenger car sales plummeted by 15.9 per cent in 2018 as buyers turned to utes and SUVs, for which sales grew in the same period.

The NTC compiled data from the 150 bestselling cars in Australia.

It revealed eight of the 10 thirstiest models were utes or SUVs, joined on the list by Ford’s V8 Mustang and the previous generation Toyota HiAce.

Sales of electric vehicles fell by 3 per cent from 2,424 in 2017 down to 2,357 in 2018. However, electric sales have been boosted in 2019 by new models such as the Tesla Model 3 and Nissan Leaf. Strong sales for Toyota’s Corolla and RAV4 hybrids will also help reduce emissions this year.

Toyota is pushing the case for efficient hybrid models, its average emissions figure of 197g/km is much higher than the national average of 181g/km because more customers choose a HiLux ute than a Corolla Hybrid.

Toyota’s full-size LandCruiser remains popular despite being powered by a thirsty diesel V8.

The end of local car manufacturing helped Holden reduce emissions by 9 per cent as the homegrown Commodore, including V8 variants, was consigned to history.

But Ford’s average emissions have increased in line with enduring popularity for the Ranger ute and Mustang sports car.

Social analyst and automotive consultant David Chalke says utes such as the Ranger have picked up where V8 sedans left off.

He says the late Ford Falcon XR8 or Commodore SS combined family-friendly practicality with a hint of Bathurst-bred driving heroics — dual-cab utes give off an action man image that sits well with Aussie blokes.

“These are dominant expressions of testosterone-riddled masculinity,” Chalke says.

“We can tow the jet ski at the weekend, or take the trailer with a couple of dirt bikes on it. This is cashed-up-bogan heaven.

“They are somewhat anti-social in their nature. That’s really the appeal.”