Seat Ibiza Ecomotive news - Seat does 100mpg - 2009

Here’s a cheeky philosophical teaser for you: is it possible for green stuff to be interesting?

We don’t mean ‘green’ as in broccoli. Or algae. We mean environmental stuff. See, this Seat Ibiza Ecomotive has just managed a ridiculous 970 miles on a single tank of fuel, at an average consumption of 97.4mpg, in the hands of renowned eco-driver Gerhard Plattner on a cross-European drive.

That’s absurd. Nearly 100mpg, from a sensible small hatchback with seating for five (well, just about). 100mpg from a decent-looking, decent-driving supermini. Amazing stuff.

But we’re still struggling to be, y’know, excited about it. Maybe it’s because Seat admits that ‘at some points along the way on motorways, Platter brought the Ibiza up to cruising speeds of nearly 70mph’. Doesn’t exactly sound like a wild ride, does it?

Maybe it’s because headline figures like ‘1.4-litre turbodiesel’ and ‘79bhp’ don’t really grab the imagination as much as, say, ‘800bhp’ and ‘twin-turbo V8’.

We’re not quite sure. What do you reckon? Can green ever be truly interesting? Or is it inherently just a bit more boring than bad, evil, fun, polar-bear-strangling stuff? Let’s settle this one right now...