Toyota Prius Plug-in Toyota Prius Plug-in claims 134.5mpg and CO2 emissions of 49g/km
Toyota has announced the final emissions figures for the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and it’s set to produce just 49g/km and be capable of 134.5mpg.

The Plug-in is so much cleaner than the standard Prius – which boasts an already good 85g/km figure – because of its larger battery pack that allows the car to travel 15.5 miles on electric power alone. 

Unlike a full electric vehicle, which can take as long as 12 hours to recharge, the Prius Plug-in takes just 90 minutes to charge up. Once the battery is empty, the Prius switches to the petrol engine to deliver a combined range of 769 miles. 

Elsewhere the Plug-in is almost identical to the standard Prius, offering the same interior space and 443 litres of room in the boot. 

The Prius Plug-in will go on sale in the summer with prices at less than £30,000 when the Government electric vehicle grant of £5,000 is taken into account. 

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

For an alternative review of the latest Toyota Prius visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

Toyota Prius Plug-In Toyota Prius Plug-In claims 134.5mpg and CO2 emissions of 49g/km
Toyota has announced the final emissions figures for the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and it’s set to produce just 49g/km and be capable of 134.5mpg.

The Plug-in is so much cleaner than the standard Prius – which boasts an already good 85g/km figure – because of its larger battery pack that allows the car to travel 15.5 miles on electric power alone. 

Unlike a full electric vehicle, which can take as long as 12 hours to recharge, the Prius Plug-in takes just 90 minutes to charge up. Once the battery is empty, the Prius switches to the petrol engine to deliver a combined range of 769 miles. 

Elsewhere the Plug-in is almost identical to the standard Prius, offering the same interior space and 443 litres of room in the boot. 

The Prius Plug-in will go on sale in the summer with prices at less than £30,000 when the Government electric vehicle grant of £5,000 is taken into account. 

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

For an alternative review of the latest Toyota Prius visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

Toyota Yaris Hybrid Toyota Yaris Hybrid becomes cheapest petrol-electric car on sale and boasts CO2 emissions of 79g/km
Toyota is now claiming to offer the most affordable hybrid in the UK in the form of the Yaris Hybrid

The Japanese automaker, which brought hybrid power to the masses with the original Prius, is now offering the same technology in its Yaris and it makes for some impressive figures.

The 99bhp petrol engine is mated to an electric motor, both of which direct power to the front wheels. Together they are capable of 80.7mpg, whilst producing just 79g/km of CO2, making the new Yaris Hybrid the most CO2 efficient combustion engine on sale in the UK. This means the car qualifies for free road tax and is exempt from the London congestion charge.

The new Yaris Hybrid comes with air conditioning and automatic transmission as standard, and is available to order now. With a starting price of less than £15,000, customer deliveries commence in July.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

For an alternative review of the latest Toyota Yaris visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

Toyota FT-Bh teaser Toyota FT-Bh teaser shots shown ahead of Geneva reveal
These images confirm that the Toyota FT-Bh – which stands for Future Toyota B-segment Hybrid – will be on show at Geneva in a few weeks.

With an emphasis on its efficiency and environmental credentials, the FT-Bh uses existing technology to create a car that is realistically achievable in the short term. 

Toyota has focused on five key areas of the car. Weight of the five-door supermini is less than 800kg, which means that the second area under the microscope – the hybrid drivetrain’s efficiency – can be honed. 

The third area is thermal energy management, which also benefits from electricity saving (the fourth) and Toyota’s “total vehicle” approach that sees the fifth aspect – aerodynamic efficiency – improve by 30 per cent.

The Toyota FT-Bh will be revealed on 6 March at the Geneva Motor Show.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

Toyota Aygo 2012 Refreshed Toyota Aygo gets a new look, a more efficient engine and two new trim levels
Details have been revealed of the updated Toyota Aygo range. Prices start from £8,495, and new Fire and Ice models have been added to the line-up.

The refreshed car gets styling updates to bring it in line with the all-new Yaris and tweaks to the 1.0-litre petrol engine to bring emissions below 100g/km. Cars equipped with the manual transmission boast 99g/km and fuel economy of 65.7mpgs, while the automatic cars claim 104g/km and 62.7mpg.

Entry-level Aygo and Aygo+ trims get the same standard equipment as before, but are now up to £105 cheaper than the 2011 model. Aygo Fire models get a sporty look with 14-inch alloy wheels, foglights, LED daytime running lights and tinted windows. Aygo Ice cars get air-con, Alcantara and leather trim, Bluetooth and a USB port. 

Aygo Ice models start from £9,895, with Fire cars starting from £9,595. The updated Aygo range is available now, with the first cars delivered on plate change day, 1 March. 

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

For an alternative review of the latest Toyota Aygo visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

Toyota FT-Bh for Geneva Toyota is set to reveal a hybrid city car at the Geneva Motor Show next month
This is the Toyota FT-Bh city car, and it’s set to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The FT-Bh concept is a hybrid city car, but Toyota has released very little information about it. The firm says it is “an ultra-lightweight, full hybrid city car study, designed to achieve low emissions within an economically viable production framework.”

Toyota has also said that it has made use of existing materials and manufacturing processes to minimise costs. This implies that a hybrid city car is likely to make production.

Toyota is also planning to show its diji concept at Geneva. The diji made its debut at Tokyo last year as the Fun-Vii, and is designed for maximum customisation. The inside and outside work as displays, which can show images or information. This means a driver can change the colour and content of the diji in minutes.

The Toyota NS4 and FCV-R concepts will also be on display, as will the production-ready Yaris Hybrid and Toyota GT 86 – the latter is due to hit showrooms in the summer with a price tag just under £25,000.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid New Yaris Hybrid is confirmed as the most efficient production Toyota ever
A new Toyota Yaris Hybrid has been confirmed as the most fuel-efficient Toyota hybrid to date. The Yaris Hybrid will deliver a claimed 80mpg and 104g/km, bettering both the Auris and Prius hybrids, which return 89g/km.

The Yaris Hybrid will use a new 1.5-litre petrol engine that, combined with the electric motor, produces 99bhp. The engine itself is 10 per cent smaller and 16.5kg lighter than the system used in the Auris and Prius. The electric driveline components have also been reduced in size and weight, including the motor itself, the Power Control Unit and transaxle, which is shorter and lighter. 

The nickel-metal hydride battery pack is located under the rear seat, so boot space is the same as in the standard Yaris. 

The new hybrid supermini will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and goes on sale in June with an expected starting price of £15,500.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

For an alternative review of the latest Toyota Yaris visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

Toyota GT 86 prices announced – Toyota GT 86 prices announced Toyota has announced that the new GT 86 will start from £24,995
The Toyota GT 86 will be priced from £24,995 when it goes on sale in June. This means that the 197bhp 2.0-litre rear-wheel-drive sports car can be yours for £5,000 less than a Nissan 370Z, £3,000 less than an entry-level Lotus Elise and £300 less than a VW Golf GTI.

The GT 86 was developed by Subaru and Toyota as a joint project, and it uses a direct-injection four-cylinder boxer engine mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed sequential gearbox. The rear-wheel-drive machine draws inspiration from Toyota’s AE 86 from the Eighties, which has gained cult status among Japanese car fans.

Our first drive in Japan revealed that the Toyota was somewhat true to its inspiration – thanks to its sharp turn-in, minimal body roll and excellent grip. It’ was clear that the chassis can handle more power, and that’s precisely what Toyota claims it intended, as the GT 86 is designed to provide a foundation for customisation and, in the process, deliver the brand some much needed credibility among enthusiasts.

Toyota expects to sell around 4,000 GT 86s in the UK each year, while Subaru has forecast 1,000 annual sales for its BRZ. Prices have not been announced for the BRZ, which also goes on sale in June. 

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

Toyota Le Mans Challenger Toyota intent on winning Le Mans with its new hybrid sportscar
Toyota is determined to snatch the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours trophy away from Audi with the first hybrid Le Mans challenger.

Following the sudden departure of Peugeot, who’ve challenged Audi’s sportscar stronghold as the only rival (other than an Audi-based Bentley) to win the Le Mans 24 Hours in more than a decade, the Japanese giant is returning to the sport complete with race-ready hybrid technology originally pioneered on models like the Prius. 

Toyota’s confirmed drivers – former F1 drivers Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima, and seasoned sportscar driver Nicolas Lapierre – helped officially unveil the TS030 HYBRID at Paul Ricard, France. The team will make its competition debut at Spa-Francorchamps for the six-hour enduro on 5 May. 

While Audi and Peugeot have followed the diesel route, the hybrid system sees a naturally aspirated 3.4-litre V8 combined with an electric motor under which the TS030 will leave the pit lane – silently. The regulations also allow the hybrid to recover up to 500kJ of energy between braking zones, a crucial aspect to the car’s performance according to the team’s technical director, Pascal Vasselon; “For any given performance level, a hybrid powertrain will achieve this with less fuel so it is an extremely relevant technology and one we are excited to be bringing to endurance racing”.

Toyota aims to go one better than its previous best finish, second in 1999, ironically in the same year the now dominant Audi, who’ve won 10 of the last 12 Le Mans 24 Hours, entered the sport. 

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

New Toyota Prius revealed – New Toyota Prius revealed Updates for 2012 Prius include a new-look front end, upgraded interior and softer suspension
The world’s favourite hybrid has received a range of upgrades for 2012, including a restyled front end, more equipment and improved comfort. Fuel economy and emissions of 72.4mpg and 89g/km (or 70.6mpg and 92g/km for models wearing 17-inch wheels) stay the same.

Most of the styling changes take place on the lower part of the front end. A redesigned bumper – which adds another 20mm to the Prius’ overall length – houses a larger front grille. Clear-lens headlights are added, while the LED daytime running lights are relocated to underneath the indicators in the front bumper – the fog lights are now imbedded in the lower grille.

Equipment levels have been increased with the Toyota Touch central touchscreen now standard on T3 and T4 models. Top-spec T-Spirit models get the Toyota Touch and Go Plus system as standard, which adds sat-nav, voice recognition and allows you to use Google local search through your phone’s 3G connection.

The Prius now comes in eight colours, including two new shades – Dark Blue and Cabernet Red. New kit on the T Spirit model includes water-repellent glass, dusk-sensing LED headlights and an electrochromatic rear view mirror.

By increasing the number of welding spots, the body is now marginally stiffer, which has a couple of knock-on effects. Firstly the suspension can be dialled back to a softer setting without any loss of body control, and secondly the steering column becomes more rigid – improving the steering feel.

Prices begin at £21,350 for the T3 model, £23,080 for the T4 and £24,620 for the T Spirit – and increase of £295, £310 and £335 respectively – and sales begin in March. Later in the year the Prius range will grow with the introduction of the Prius Plug-in and seven-seater Prius +.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

For an alternative review of the latest Toyota Prius visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk