Comparing Cars’ Emissions and Fuel Consumption Rates

The Finnish Vehicle Administration (AKE) maintains a database known as EkoAKE, which provides potential car buyers with comparable information on the emissions and fuel consumption rates of all car models available in Finland, including minibuses. The information in the database is based on figures provided by The Association of Automobile Importers in Finland.

The fuel consumption figures in the database are based on EU standardised tests for urban, extra-urban and combined driving. CO₂ emission coefficients for car models are based on the EU figures for combined driving.

Similar figures for older car models (manufactured in the years 2002-08) can be downloaded from AKE’s website in PDF format, enabling prospective buyers to compare the emissions and fuel consumption of used cars.

The AKE database also features a new vehicle energy labelling scheme launched during 2009.

Urban and extra-urban driving conditions simulated in EU tests

The present EU fuel consumption testing system has been in use since 1996.

The EU urban test cycle measures fuel consumption under laboratory conditions on a rolling road for 780 seconds, travelling a total distance of approximately four kilometres with several stops, at an average speed of 18.7 km/h and reaching a maximum speed of 50 km/h.

The EU extra-urban test cycle measures fuel consumption under similar laboratory conditions on a rolling road for 400 seconds, travelling a total distance of almost seven kilometres at an average speed of 62.6 km/h and reaching a maximum speed of 120 km/h.
 
The EU combined figure for fuel consumption relates to a mixture of urban and extra-urban driving. Since the test cycles are for journeys of different lengths, the two test cycle figures cannot be averaged out directly, but must be weighted (with the urban and extra-urban test cycles accounting for 36.81 % and 63.19 % of the combined figure, respectively).

There are no similar official test cycles for measuring the fuel consumption rates of lorries or buses, so there are no directly comparable figures for fuel consumption in litres per 100 km for heavy vehicles.