DRIVE AWARDS
ONCE UPON A TIME, saving the planet meant sacrificing style, performance or practicality – particularly when it came to buying a car. But for an industry buzzing with cutting-edge engineering, innovations in textiles, alternative fuel cells and sustainable material sourcing, that is the case no more. In fact, if your goal is straight-up carbon footprint reduction, there’s never been more choice on the table. From self-charging city sprinters to cruelty-free cosiness and pure EV (that’s electric vehicle, for the uninitiated) performance, these ethically woke cars are not the dowdy money savers of the past, but modern works of art.
the MEDAL FOR CHIC AND ETHICAL
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
IF THERE WAS any car that had a sophisticated yet youthful legacy to uphold, it’s the Range Rover Evoque: the city-sized SUV that carries as much sartorial cred as it does off-roadability. So it makes perfect sense that Land Rover would want to lead the charge for luxury that’s ethically minded and practical in equal measure. Having achieved carbon neutrality in its UK manufacturing facilities, Land Rover’s newest generation of Evoque has 33kg of natural and recycled materials in every vehicle (including plastics and post-industrial sourced materials) and “I can’t believe it’s not leather” vegan interior options. These include a cosy material by Danish textile brand Kvadrat that combines a sturdy wool blend with synthetic suede and is made from 53 recycled plastic bottles (per vehicle), and a new textile using eucalyptus bark. For those wanting to take their carbon footprint a further step back, a plug-in hybrid model is in the works.
“THE MATERIALS are CREATED FOR the
