Ministers abandon Jaguars for green and trendy Toyota (click here for the complete article)

By Marie Woolf, Chief Political Correspondent
31 May 2005

Excerpts:

It is the vehicle of choice for Hollywood A-listers such as Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz ­ and now cabinet ministers are being issued with the hi-tech, environmentally friendly car that can cut pollution and beat the congestion charge.

Eight ministers in the Labour government have so far taken delivery of the £17,000, five-door hatchbacks since the Government Car Service began offering them as an alternative to traditional marques.

The Environment minister Elliot Morley is an enthusiastic convert to the Prius.

"It's excellent," he said. "When you accelerate, the petrol engine kicks in with the electric battery so you get good acceleration.

"It's also really quiet. The downside is when you are driving, people can't hear it coming. I almost ran over someone in the House of Lords who didn't know I was there."

Ministers say that the cars will symbolically be driven at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July when climate change will be high on the agenda. And the green technology means that the Prius is exempt from the London congestion charge.

So far, 1,000 models have been sold in the UK this year, and Toyota expects to sell 3,000 by 2006. Such is their popularity that the waiting list for delivery of the latest model is two months.

However, some ministers may take a little more convincing about the benefits of a Prius. The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, otherwise known as "Two Jags" because of his favoured vehicle, is still in possession of a Jaguar limousine.