11/04/2012 Toyota announces new electric car, at a shocking price!

Toyota has announced that their new Prius Plug-In hybrid will cost an eye-watering £27,895. Indeed, the Toyota offering would be a staggering £32,895 without the £5,000 grant offered by the Government to fuel green driving. more

27/05/2008 Join the queue

The JD Powers customer satisfaction survey has caused a waiting list for used Toyota Prius vehicles, after it was so highly rated by its current owners.

The car owners’ survey had asked motorists who bought new cars between September 2005 and August 2006 (16,000 of them) to rate their car for reliability and overall satisfaction with performance and quality. The Prius scored 901 satisfaction points out of a possible 1,000.

Paul Oakley, regional sales director of Carcraft, says: "With the current financial situation, car buyers are keen for any independent confirmation that their money will be well spent.

"The JD Power Survey always has an impact on sales of the best scoring model, but this year’s demand was unprecedented. The Prius’ green credentials also help its popularity, especially given the recent changes to car tax rates."

The Prius, launched just after the millennium, has always been a popular choice because of its fuel economy and exemption from the London Congestion charge costs.

08/04/2008 Hybrid vehicles to hire in London

Green motion, the environmentally-aware car hire franchise, with
branches in England and Northern Ireland, has added the hybrid Toyota
Prius to its London stock.

With a CO2 emission performance of 104g/km, the Prius is exempt from the
new congestion charges.

Javed Hadayat said: "We have received overwhelming interest from
customers wanting to hire the Toyota Prius, which is recognised as the
iconic green vehicle and we are pleased to now be in a position to offer
our customers in London the opportunity to rent these hybrid models."

Other franchises offer the Volkswagen Polo and Golf Bluemotion, Citroens
including the C1, the C2, C3 and C4 – featuring stop and start
technology – and other vehicles from Toyota, Honda, Lexus and BMW.

13/12/2007 Stevenage Mayor sets example in Prius

The Mayor of Stevenage has changed his official car to an environmentally-friendly Toyota Prius in an effort to make the town greener.

Councillor Graham Clark commented that "it is very important" that officials set an example for others to follow.

The Prius emits 104 g of CO2 per km and is ecologically an improvement on the Rover 75 the Mayor previously used to get around.

Now Mr Clark is hoping that "other motorists in the borough will follow a similar course".

He added that Stevenage Borough Council is intent on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in its everyday activities.

"Our priority in sourcing the new vehicle was to find the most fuel-efficient and least polluting option available, while retaining the attributes of equivalent conventional cars," he said.

Environmental issues have been forefronted this year by politicians, particularly former US vice president Al Gore, who staged the Live Earth concerts worldwide in an attempt to raise awareness.

18/06/2007 Green taxi service picks the Prius

The Toyota Prius will soon be put into action across London as a new carbon neutral taxi service begins operations.

Climatecars claims to be taking a "no-compromise stance" on the environment, with all of its cars’ emissions to be offset by the Carbon Neutral Company.

The Toyota Prius models used by the company, which will all have a metallic grey finish and black leather seats, will emit 104 grams of CO2 per kilometre and are expected to complete 30,000 miles every year.

Five of the petrol-electric cars were received by the company at the beginning of this month, with more due in the future.

Nicko Williamson, founder of Climatecars, said: "After looking at LPG [liquid petroleum gas], biofuels and other eco-friendly technologies, it was clear that hybrids were the natural way to go.

"The Prius is one of the greenest cars on the road, it has plenty of space and it’s a very practical option for this industry. It’s an extremely clever vehicle with a lot of potential."

Mr Williamson said that the Prius itself is likely to be one of his company’s biggest selling points, as passengers will "find it interesting" to travel in the car.

01/05/2007 London dealership creates “dream” Prius

A luxury version of the Toyota Prius, the automaker’s hybrid car, has been developed by one of the company’s dealerships in north London.

Jemca Toyota created the car, recruiting specialist trimmers and suppliers, in order to meet specialist requirements expressed by a customer.

The vehicle’s exterior was sprayed in Brechin slate, a metallic finish usually applied to Lexus models, by Jemca’s approved bodyshop and a set of Fox RS3 wheels were fitted.

On the inside, hand-stitched leather was used to reupholster the seats and in all the work enhanced the car’s value to £32,900.

Roger Hart, Jemca’s Prius sales specialist, said that the dealership is "well aware" of the popularity of the hybrid model, with 176 registered in March alone, but added that it has never had such a specific request before.

"We were delighted to help the new owner achieve just the specification he wanted and believe that the result is the most valuable Prius ever sold in the UK," Mr Hart added.

"It might seem an unlikely car to personalise in this way, we’ve shown just what can be achieved and how far we can go to help our customers obtain exactly the car they desire."

13/03/2007 Motorists ‘missing an opportunity’ with green cars

Many British drivers are missing a chance to save money on road tax, with only two per cent of motorists planning to make their next purchase an environmentally friendly hybrid car such as the Toyota Prius, according to Alliance & Leicester.

Hybrid cars offer the possibility of cleaner driving through their combination of a traditional petrol engine with an electric motor.

Toyota claims that its Prius is capable of emitting up to one tonne less carbon dioxide every year than a conventional petrol car.

Chancellor Gordon Brown is expected to unveil a ‘green’ Budget next month, with higher taxes on ‘gas-guzzling’ vehicles, yet only three per cent of drivers plan to choose their next car on the basis of its green credentials.

Richard Al-Dabbagh of Alliance & Leicester commented: "Despite all the newspaper headlines telling us that global warming is about to reach crisis point and speculation that environmentally unfriendly cars will bear the brunt of imminent tax hikes, people are still shunning the most environmentally friendly cars."

Just under a quarter of the people surveyed said they will base their next car purchase on reliability and three per cent said that their next vehicle will be a 4×4.

26/02/2007 Company adopts Toyota Prius for its entire fleet

The green credentials of the Toyota Prius have led to 45 of its models being taken on by a company to make up its entire fleet.

Previously, Premiere Products used up to 15 models from eight different manufacturers for its sales car fleet but has decided to exclusively use the Toyota Prius owing to the beneficial effect this could have on the environment.

Using the model could also allow the company to save up to 30 per cent in running costs.

Andrew Marquand, assistant managing director of Premiere Products, explained: "We took the first step when we decided to make the fleet all-diesel about three years ago.

"This time round we decided to specify an environmentally-friendly hybrid car, and because of its loadspace the Toyota Prius was the only one fit for our purpose."

Mr Marquand described the Prius as "an innovative car" and said that the experience of driving it is "quite different" to the vehicles that the company’s employees previously used.