The new Bentley is a beast of almost 800 hp that fits easily into the ZBE. A Dacia Sandero cannot

Reducing emissions so that the air in cities is breathable. So far, so good. The problem is that to achieve this, measures such as those are being applied. Low Emission Zones (LEZ)which favor those who have the most and penalize the most humble.

And we are not talking about retiring a car without a label to buy one that does have one, which is also true. But Many settle for a C label because They can’t buy a ZERO label eithercars that in theory will not have restrictions even in the most demanding ZBEs. In short: if you want to drive, you have to pay more.

A V8 with almost 800 hp with a plug, yes; a three-cylinder with 90 hp, no.

He nuevo Bentley Continental GT Speed It is a plug-in hybrid: it is the first time that this model uses a PHEV engine. In this heart you have a brutal 4.0 liter V8 and 600 HP with an electric motor to sign nothing less than 782 CV and 1,000 Nm of torque.

This luxury grand tourer, which in its previous version and being a petrol-powered car could cost more than 400,000 euros, is a ZERO label car. It achieves this classification thanks to its electric range of more than 40 km.

And that means you can move around without any restrictions. Madrid Central (ZBE Distrito Centro now), one of the most restrictive ZBE in Spain that only allows ZERO and ECO labels. But a humble Dacia Sandero with a small 90 HP three-cylinder engine, no: it is label C. An 800 hp beast can do it, but a basic utility vehicle that costs around 15,000 euros cannot.

A PHEV is more than twice as expensive as a gasoline one. It is an example taken to the extreme, but the truth is that plug-in hybrids usually exceed 30,000 euros and normally are around 40,000 or even 50,000. If not more. With pure electrics, the others labeled ZERO, it is even worse: very few go below 40,000 euros.

Just take a look at the market and Compare the price of the cheapest PHEVs with the most affordable gasoline ones: they cost more than double.

It is true that there is, and will be, a more affordable PHEV: the new MG HS, a Chinese car. Without aid, it is estimated to cost around 32,500 euros. But it is not cheap, and even less so if we compare it with the most affordable cars on the market. The Opel Astra itself serves as an example: with a petrol engine it starts at 23,500 euros. That is 13,000 euros less.

In addition, a PHEV requires a power outlet at home, or at least it is recommended that this be the case in order to really take advantage of the electric range in the city. And it is precisely the most humble households that tend to park on the street because they do not have a parking space.

But, doesn’t a small gasoline car pollute less than a V8, even if it’s a PHEV? The reality is no. In terms of consumption and emissions, these PHEVs are more environmentally friendly than the much cheaper petrol models mentioned above. And not because of the mileage they do per year. At least on paper.

Following the example of the homologated Bentley Continental GT Speed 29 g/km of CO₂ and its mixed consumption is 1,3 l/100 kmboth in the current WLTP cycle. While the 90 hp Dacia Sandero is approved 118 gr/km of CO2 and a combined consumption of 5,2 l/100 kmThe same goes for the 63 hp Picanto: 115 g/km of CO₂ and a combined consumption of 5.1 l/100 km.

The key to a plug-in hybrid is that it has a battery large enough to allow it to run in electric mode: any PHEV that exceeds 40 km of electric range is labelled ZERO. The Continental GT Speed ​​promises to do so for 81 km, but in general the PHEVs on the market exceed that range.

From PHEV approval to actual use: another chasm. Although it is also true that PHEVs have been criticized because their actual consumption, and therefore emissions, differ from what they approve in the new WLTP standard.

Not so much because the cycle is unrealistic (it is compared to the old NEDC), but because homologation data for a PHEV is more complicated to communicate. A plug-in hybrid depends on the battery and this is not always fully charged: so the tests are repeated several times, taking an average.

So is obtained a consumption that is perhaps too optimistic, even if it is real. But in everyday reality it is possible to avoid such consumption levels. This was demonstrated by a recent European study which postulated that PHEVs emit up to three times more than their homologated values.

Although the homologation cycles are not intended to be a reference for real consumption and emissions, consumers understand it that way. That is why the WLTP has been supplemented since 2021 with road tests and, above all, cars sold since then have been equipped with an OBFCM (On Board Fuel Consumption Monitoring).

Taking the data from this “snitch”, the aforementioned report of the European Commission revealed a consumption much higher than that approved in WLTP in the case of the PHEVs analysed based on real use by consumers: they promised an average of 1.69 l/100 km but the real figure was 5.94 l/100 km. 252% more than that declared by the manufacturers.

This analysis concluded that in fact It’s not that brands are lying, but that users are not charging them as much as they should. and therefore do not circulate in electric mode sufficiently, abusing the thermal engine.

ZERO label vs ECO label, cheaper yes, but… The reality today is that LEZs discriminate based on environmental labelling, which is based on the Euro standards of the engines and, therefore, on emissions. With the homologation data in hand, a PHEV deserves that label and a petrol does not.

In theory, ECO fuels, which are more affordable but more expensive than thermal fuels, will not be subject to restrictions either. But this depends on whether the labelling remains as it is.

Something that will change sooner rather than later because it is a bit of a botch job and we come across inconsistencies such as the fact that an Audi RS6 with its 600 hp V8 has the ECO because it is a mild-hybrid. This change has been on the table for some time and is even being demanded by the OCU.

Among the proposed changes, there is talk of a new D label that would theoretically include PHEVs since they have a combustion engine. But at the moment, this is up in the air and in any case the change would not be retroactive: those who buy a PHEV today will keep the CERO label even if there are new labels. The DGT itself has admitted this.

In any case, being able to drive around without restrictions is a costly undertaking. People who can afford it will have no problems, but less well-off households will. And this is something that is worrying: proof of this is that the best-selling car in Spain is the Dacia Sandero and the one that buyers prefer is the LPG one that carries the ECO label.