London Congestion Charges No Barrier For Toyota Prius
Published: 5th February 2003
The four-door saloon is a hybrid vehicle, using a combination of a conventional 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 33kW electric motor. On the open road, power is derived from both sources, but on start-up, when stationary and in slow moving traffic (speeds below 10mph), the Prius switches to its electric motor. In this mode, exhaust emissions are reduced to zero.
This ‘green’ quality, which qualifies the Prius for exemption from the London congestion charges, is just one of the benefits of owning the car. Since the Prius was launched in 1997 as the world’s first mass-production hybrid vehicle, more than 110,000 have been sold around the world.
Here in the UK it has offered substantial savings for Britain’s drivers, thanks to excellent fuel economy and low carbon dioxide emissions that place the car in the lowest Vehicle Excise Duty band.
Petrol consumption on the combined ‘open road’ cycle is 57.6mpg, while in urban conditions, where conventional petrol-engined vehicles return poor figures, the Prius can achieve 61.4mpg. The car’s automatic transmission also makes for more relaxed driving around town.
Toyota (GB) PLC managing director, R. Graham Smith said: "Commuters and business users driving into London every day can reduce the pain of congestion charging and save up to £1,250 a year by driving a car like the petrol/electric Toyota Prius, which is exempt from the daily £5 congestion charge.
"Once you have registered for the charge exemption, you don’t have to log on every time you want to drive into London. So, as well as saving you money, it will save time and reduce aggravation – all of which drivers suffer enough from in London anyway."
Furthermore, anyone buying a Prius can take advantage of a £1,000 grant towards the £16,400 on-the-road price from the PowerShift programme, a Government-funded initiative to encourage motorists to choose cleaner vehicles.
Other authorities are watching the London experiment carefully and there is every possibility road charging will extend further around the country, adding yet more strength to the case for Prius.
Prius owners do not have to make compromises on performance
and comfort. The car has a top speed of almost 100mph (where
permitted) and will accelerate from rest to 62mph in 13.4
seconds. The cabin has space for five passengers and there
is a well proportioned boot. It is well equipped, too, with
driver and passenger airbags, ABS with Electronic Brakeforce
Distribution (EBD), electric windows and air conditioning.
