The Best Low Emission Vehicles (LEV)

This is part of a sponsored series of posts. 

You may have heard the term, low emission vehicles, especially if you live in an area that has high air quality statutes. But if you don’t actually own one, you might now know much about them or what they are all about. Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know, plus a list of some of the best low emission vehicles (LEV) on the market.

Defining Low Emission Vehicles

Simply stated by a Maryland Mazda dealer, a low emission vehicle is a vehicle that produces fewer emissions than a typical vehicle. According to JDPower.com, there are now several categories to classify these vehicles, these include:

TLEV (Transitional Low Emission Vehicle) – These were the earliest versions, but were typically last seen in 2004.

LEV (Low Emission Vehicle) – These vehicles follow the requirement for ‘light vehicles’ sold after 2004.

ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) – Considered to be 50% cleaner than the average vehicle.

SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) – Considered to be 90% cleaner than the average vehicle.

PZEV (Partial Zero Emission Vehicle) – Vehicles in this category meet the SULEV tailpipe standards for emissions along with having a 150,000 miles/15 year warranty and “zero evaporative emissions” (JDPower.com).

AT PZEV (Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle) – This category includes hybrid or compressed natural gas vehicles that satisfy the SULEV requirements for tailpipe emissions. Along with this, they also have the 15 year/150,000 mile warranty plus zero evaporative emissions and lastly, “advanced technology components” (JDPower.com).

ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle) – Considered to be 98% cleaner than the typical vehicle, they also have zero unsafe tailpipe emissions. This category includes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles.

If you’re wondering about how your vehicle might size up, dig up it’s EPA Greenhouse Gas Rating and compare. The best score you can get is a 10.

Great Picks for a Low Emission Vehicle

If you are looking to purchase a new low emissions vehicle (LEV), you might consider one of these highly rated vehicles:

• Toyota Highlander Hybrid
• Saturn Vue Hybrid
• Honda Civic GX NGV
• Chevrolet Volt
• Mazda Tribute 2WD Hybrid
• Toyota RAV4 EV
• Ford Escape Hybrid
• Toyota Camry Hybrid
• Toyota Prius

Special shout out to JD Power for the detailed information on low emission vehicles! They were very helpful in writing this article 🙂