Carbon Dioxide

What is synthetic fuel and is it really the future for our cars?

synthetic fuel
Using synthetic fuel could keep thousands of combustion engine cars on the road (Picture iStock/Sharfsinn86)

You might have heard of synthetic fuel. It’s a way to power regular combustion engine cars in a less polluting way.

If we’re learning one thing, the planet does need to clean up its act. Burning fossil fuels to get around isn’t great for anyone’s future. But neither is it possible to immediately change all our cars to zero emissions electric vehicles (EV). And that’s where synthetic fuel comes in.

What is synthetic fuel?

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Find your car’s true pollution thanks to new on-road tests

Car's true pollution

You might think you know how polluting your car is from official figures. On-road tests will be more accurate

Finding your car’s true pollution would have been nearly impossible as recently as a few months ago. But now you can discover the true emissions  – harmful and otherwise – pumped out of its exhaust pipe. It’s courtesy of a company called Emissions Analytics which tests cars’ real-world performance for emissions and economy.

By measuring their miles per gallon and pollution output on the road, rather than in a lab like the official figures do, Emissions Analytics can build up a picture of how cars really perform. Just as you’ve probably found out for yourself that your car’s real-life economy differs from that claimed by its manufacturer, so its carbon dioxide (CO2) output is different too. Now, as well as your car’s true output of nitrogen oxide , you can find its real carbon dioxide output, as well as its genuine miles per gallon in every day motoring.

Which were the worst cars for real CO2?

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Car exhaust emissions: What they are and why they may cost you money

Exhaust emissions

Smoke-like steam when you start up is normal. If it continues, your car could have a problem

The moment you turn your car’s engine on, exhaust emissions start coming out of its tail pipes. They could cause your car to fail its annual MOT test if examiners judge that too many harmful gases are being emitted. They could even land you with a fine.

There’s nothing drivers of internal combustion engine cars can do about small levels of exhaust emissions. They are, after all, the result of the chemical reaction taking place when fuel is burnt by the engine. But with tougher checks for cars’ exhaust emissions, find out how to stay the right side of legal. Continue reading