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Already beloved of the self-consciously eco-conscious, the Toyota Prius is set to become a little more green when a plug-in version of the ubiquitous hybrid is unveiled in Frankfurt.
In fact, it’ll be the cleanest car on the road when it becomes available for lease – albeit in very limited numbers – early next year, boasting official combined emissions of just 60g/km of CO2.
Instead of the standard Prius’s nickel metal hydride batteries, the plug-in uses smaller, lighter lithium-ion batteries, which store more charge and will allow the Prius to run on electric power alone for up to 12.5 miles, more than double the range of the current (sorry) car.
The biggest modification is that the plug-in can be, er, plugged into the mains, charging from a 230 volt household power supply in 90 minutes. The standard Prius recharges its batteries using power drawn from the petrol engine and energy recovered under braking.
Toyota will lease around 500 plug-in Priuses to customers around the world early next year, with a handfull expected to make it to the UK.
If you wish to be considered for the trial, necessary qualifications include the ability to drive with an expression of serene self-satisfaction upon your face. Or for you to be a Hollywood actor.
Open Car Bar
What do you think?
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TennantsLager commented on this article
at 05:14 pm on 11 September 2009
And I expect all 500 of them to make it into the hands of the A-list...........
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JaguarXJboy commented on this article
at 05:38 pm on 11 September 2009
i thought it would do more than 12.5 miles
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Petrol-head312 commented on this article
at 08:27 pm on 11 September 2009
I'd invest in that honda clarity; that has the co2 emissions of water
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martzweb commented on this article
at 09:13 pm on 11 September 2009
oh my god a new pious .... err... prius ..... god, cant .... stop ..... yawning ! i love these things, especially the look on the drivers face when my remapped SKODA howls past them and the penny drops ... they bought a massively overpriced peice of dog poo.
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Jra175 commented on this article
at 02:07 am on 12 September 2009
I agree with martzweb. Also the prius does not even have performance figures as good as the Chevy Volt, and it is definately uglier.
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