Here at Fords of Winsford, the north-west’s favourite car supermarket, we see cars of every colour under the sun, but undoubtedly some of the most attractive and distinctive ones which come our way are in various shades of green. So as this post comes to you around the time of St Patrick’s Day (17th March, just in case you’ve managed to escape the usual frenzy of bars doing their annual promotion of a certain black Irish beer...), we thought we’d gather a little Irish inspiration, and focus on some striking cars in these colours amongst our stock. To sit alongside these, we also present four cars which are outstandingly green in the sense of their environmental credentials. You’ll probably have heard of at least some of these - but we think some will come as a bit of a surprise. So let’s take a look behind the green door and offer you a pick of ‘green vs green’. First up in the green (coloured) corner:

SEAT Ibiza 1.6TDi FR (2014)

Colour: Lima Green

Our first contender could easily fit into both of our ‘green’ camps - not only is it in a vibrant shade of metallic green (a pretty popular choice among generally younger SEAT owners), but it also scores in respect of being cheap to run. “With its cheap road tax and frugal running costs it's easy to be smug about cheap motoring with this car,” writes Ibiza owner Ian Sandall in a review of his car for motoring website Parkers. He’s also been impressed that “the mpg figures are (amazingly) as advertised - even with spirited driving the fuel consumption is excellent.” Find this car at our Winsford site.*

Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 CDTi EcoFLEX (2015)

Colour: Emerald Green

Auto Express rated this particular version highly, saying: “This latest ecoFLEX has brilliant economy and low tax bills, but drives as well as any other diesel Insignia – and it’s punchy compared to its rivals. So while sales of traditional large family cars are falling, this one still makes sense.” The addition of an engine stop-start system - which automatically cuts the engine when you’re stood in traffic - helped this version of the Insignia achieve improvements in both CO2 emissions and the mpg figure over the model it replaced, compared to its main Mondeo and Passat rivals at the time, the same review also noted: “The Vauxhall is by far the most powerful of the three, with lots of low-rev shove. It also feels faster than its 10.4-second 0-62mph time suggests.” Find this car at our Winsford site.*

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross 1.6DDiS SZ-T 5-door (2014)

Colour: Green

Here’s a rugged-looking car you might not have thought of before - but it’s definitely worth a look if you’ve had a Nissan Qashqai in mind. It offers 4 wheel drive versatility with even more rugged looks than its rival, but it’s more keenly priced new, and long-term is likely to offer lower running costs too. A long-term test by one of the Honest John team found the SX4 S-Cross was “a proper all-rounder with its Allgrip capability.” Summing up its abilities, he said: “The SX4 S-Cross really is a gem of a car simply because it does everything you want. It's economical, quick when you want it to be, spacious - especially in the back - and extremely comfortable. It also grips in snow, [and is] brilliant on the motorway.” Find this car at our Trafford site.*

Mercedes-Benz A-Class A250 AMG 4MATIC Auto (2015)

Colour: Elbaite Green

The A-Class went from being a bit of an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan with a major revamp in 2013, and its new clothes certainly wowed the Auto Express test team: “Few cars look as good as a spruced up A-Class – it’s sleek, wide and classy, exactly what a modern Merc should be,” they wrote. This model has the added benefit of four-wheel drive, and combined with the auto box, the reviewers noted: “The grip from the 4MATIC system is superb, as is body control – this car changes direction well, and with the engine on the boil and the gearbox humming, it will punch out of corners or roundabouts leaving you grinning all the way to the next bend.” Find this car at our Winsford site.* Now it’s on to our more environmentally green selection. Again, we’ve carefully chosen cars from across our price range, and with a variety of different specs. But what these cars all share is a low CO2 emissions figure - meaning low, or no, vehicle excise duty (or road tax) - economical engines, and a host of features which help keep running costs down. First on our starting grid, we present:

Toyota Aygo X-Play 1.0VVTi 5-door (2016)

• MPG (combined) 68.9 • CO2 emissions 95g/km • Road tax £0 Buy this car and you’ll benefit from the lion’s share of the original manufacturer’s five-year warranty - giving you the kind of peace of mind you only get with a select few used cars. Add to that the fact that you won’t pay a penny in road tax, and can realistically expect 50-plus mpg on all but the shortest or city-bound journeys, and you have a car which might be a vivid red on the outside, but has great green qualities running right through it. Find this car at our Winsford site.*

Nissan Leaf

• MPG (combined) N/A • CO2 emissions 0g/km (it’s even got a badge to prove it - below) • Road tax £0

Apart from the Toyota Prius, the Leaf from fellow Japanese car-maker Nissan is probably the zero-emissions car most people will have heard of. Earning a full five stars from car reviews site Parkers, the Leaf is pretty practical in day-to-day use, and its battery can be charged to 80% of its capacity within 30 minutes using a fast charger, numbers of which are growing all the time. The Acenta model pictured here sits in the middle of the three trim levels currently available. Find this car at our Winsford site.*

Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6 BLUEHDi 100 VTR 5-door (2016)

• MPG (combined) 83.1 • CO2 emissions 99g/km • Road tax £0 The successor to the car which earned the crown as the UK’s best-selling MPV, the latest-model Picasso earned praise from Whatcar.com, which said: “For an MPV, it's good to drive, with a soft ride that copes well with bumps.” Diesels are also much more fuel-efficient, giving between 46 and 49mpg, with both petrol engines giving an average of 35mpg. Insurance bills shouldn't worry you, with the entry-level cars starting at group 6, and the range rising to group 9. Find this car at our Trafford site.*

Mercedes-Benz C300H

• MPG (combined) 74.3 • CO2 emissions 100g/km • Road tax £0

What’s a big Merc doing featuring amongst our roll-call of greenest cars, you might ask? Well, while being absolutely loaded with kit, including an innovative touchpad system which makes manoeuvring around the car's infotainment systems much easier. Its intelligent Energy Flow system recoups lost energy to top up the electric motor and maximise both efficiency and range, this teamed with a 201bhp 2-litre diesel engine and 27bhp electric motor means you have nearly 230bhp at your disposal. Combine that with the 500Nm of torque and 0-62mph can be officially achieved in just 6.4 seconds. A seven-speed auto gearbox is fitted, while you can also adjust the driving modes for a firmer or more relaxed drive, as you wish. All this, and it costs precisely nothing to tax! Find this vehicle at our Trafford site.* *All models chosen from FoW stock were available as of Monday 13 March. So there you are - a choice of green cars with a difference, which we hope go to prove that you can get lots of different cars in various shades of green these days - including a few which will surprise you! If you’re on the lookout for a green used car this St Patrick’s Day, or to permanently keep down your motoring costs, be sure to visit Fords of Winsford. Our sites in Trafford and Winsford have a choice of more than 1,800 cars at any time, plenty of which are designed with minimum environmental impact in mind - or come in fetching shades as you can see here!