Toyota And Lexus Win Magazine's Environment Awards

ESSEX, UK - June 24, 2006: Toyota and Lexus have jointly won the first Gold Award for Green 4x4s from 4x4 & MPV Driver magazine. Announced today, the honour recognises advances in technology and design which have set Toyota and Lexus 4x4s ahead of the market in terms of all-round environmental innovation and performance.

The Green 4x4 awards were set up to honour the companies, cars and technologies that are changing 4x4s for ever – and for the better – by reducing emissions, improving fuel economy and introducing new environmental concepts.

Bob Murray, 4x4 & MPV Driver editor, said: "Manufacturers of 4x4s come no cleaner, greener or smarter than Toyota and Lexus, winners of our inaugural Green 4x4 Gold Award.

"The world’s most successful car maker has been consistently at the forefront of new environmental automotive technologies for decades, often using 4x4s to take that technology out of the laboratory and on to the road."

The Lexus RX 400h is singled out for praise as ‘a technological tour de force, as well as a pretty darned civilised SUV’. Six out of 10 British RX buyers now opt for the hybrid power 400h, which delivers incredible performance with emissions levels and fuel economy that are unheard of among non-diesel SUVs.

The new RAV4 T180 contributes further to Toyota’s success, exemplifying the clean and efficient modern compact 4x4. The T180’s 2.2-litre D-4D engine uses Toyota D-CAT technology to achieve exceptionally low levels of particulates and nitrogen oxides emissions, two of the most challenging elements in diesel exhaust gas. And as well already achieving emissions standards proposed for 2010 at a time when some companies are still struggling to meet current requirements, the 175bhp engine is the most powerful in its class.

The judges also took into account Toyota’s investment in developing hybrid fuel cell technology and putting it on the road in the FCHV-5, a special version of its US-market Highlander 4x4 that is capable of creating its own hydrogen fuel on board.

The full story of the Green 4x4 Awards is featured in the July issue of 4x4 & MPV Driver, on sale at all good newsagents from today. 4x4 & MPV Driver is the UK’s only magazine dedicated to the fastest growing areas of the car market.