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All car manufacturers are having to come to terms with the fact that the products they make are damaging the environment, and that in the next 10 or so years the efficiency and CO2 emissions of the industry will simply have to be reduced, in order to conserve fuel and meet government legislation/targets.

SEAT is one of the latest brands to realise the facts and start designing and producing a range of environmentally friendly cars. Popular with people both for the green credentials and the potential money saving, they have clearly realised that this is a potentially brilliant future cash cow for used SEATs. Their range, featuring a pimped up Ibiza, Leon and Alhambra, is titled the Ecomotive series - “less emissions, more emotion”.

The Ibiza is one of the most popular SEAT cars on the road, and it would seem that the Ibiza Ecomotive edition is no less popular. It first attracts people because the lightweight car itself only costs around £12000, with good discounts always offered off list price if you grit your teeth and haggle hard. For most people the icing on the cake is the superb average efficiency of 76mpg, and that fact that the tiny emissions of 98 g/km result in you having to pay no road taxes on the vehicle. It seems to me, however, that if your priority is a fuel efficient and sporty car, the price should be the added bonus rather than the other way around.

The next step up the SEAT ladder will be the Leon. Kind of like a beefed up older brother, the Leon is the faster, flashier version that adds a bit more sporty bling to the whole SEAT range. For a car with a 1.9 litre engine to be economical enough to manage 62mpg combined, you just know that SEAT will have gone all out to get the eco-friendly touches working in synchrony with what has always been a sporty hatchback favourite. Whether you buy this as a used SEAT when the price has reduced a little or brand new, you will still be saving money in comparison to other cars. Alongside the temping design specifications on the higher end Leon models, the company like to push interesting and attractive facts, such as the fact that this model can do around 1500km on a single tank of fuel.

The third car in the SEAT Ecomotive range isn’t quite as compact and sporty as the others. In fact, the Alhambra is an MPV, designed for transporting your passengers from A to B, whilst offering comfort and a smooth ride in-between. For a car this spacious and with such a large 2 litre engine, the very idea of having Ecomotive capabilities is quite revolutionary. And revolutionary it is - the Alhambra has been declared the greenest car in its class, quite an accolade in an industry striving to be environmentally friendly, or at least sustainable. Alongside the traditional upgrades such as lower friction tires and a lighter build, you only release a surprisingly low 159 g/km CO2, meaning you can rest assured that whilst you car is huge and the space comprehensive, the world isn’t being hurt because of it.