NO PLUG? NO FEAR!

Following the success of the Lexus ES300h in Professional Driver’s Car of the Year Awards last year, where it scooped the Executive Car of the Year prize, we wanted to see for ourselves just how good this car is for the executive chauffeuring market.

We know our judges liked it, and we know that QSi Award-winning Scottish chauffeurs Little’s run the ES300h in their famous burgundy colours. We’ve also seen a few cars around the London airports. So is the rest of the industry missing something?

Even our esteemed editor was duly impressed as we went round the country visiting various operators who were suitably intrigued by the cars stature. People like Jason Ikpedjian of Belgraves, (pictured with the car), admitted they hadn’t necessarily considered adding this car to their fleets. but certainly agreed that the car’s quality wouldn’t be amiss for executive work.

So why is the ES300h not on more big UK fleets? It’s not a question of affordability. The new BMW i5 we tested last year weighed in at £89,000 on the road. It’s an impressive car but the starting price for the ES300h is less than half that, at around £40,000. Even the top-line Takumi version we tested here is only £56,365.

Even if there was a marked running cost advantage of going electric (and there isn’t if you have to use the charging networks rather than home charging), you’d have to do a hell of a lot of miles to make up the price differential. And range anxiety is not an issue. You don’t plug in the ES300h at all – it’s what Toyota calls a “self-charging hybrid”.

The elephant in the room for London chauffeurs is, of course, TfL’s refusal to license cars that are not “zero emissions capable”. This means it’s OK to license a PHEV, even if you never charge it up, but not a self-charging hybrid.

It’s nonsense, but you can find ways round it – there are other councils that will allow you to register the car, and under the Deregulation Act there is nothing to stop you from working in the capital without returning to base.

So, if you can register the ES300h in your area, book a test with your local dealer. Or come to our Car of the Year judging day.