What Car? Editor-In-Chief, Chas Hallett states:
The Vauxhall Ampera represents a massive step for alternative-fuel cars. It offers all the benefits of owning an electric vehicle with virtually none of the drawbacks. It gives motorists the ability to dramatically reduce their emissions without changing their lifestyle, which is exactly what green cars need to do.
In addition to snagging the Green Car of the Year title, the Ampera topped the What Car? alternative fuel category, beating out the Nissan Leaf and the electric Renault Fluence. The Vauxhall Ampera is set for release in early 2012 in the UK at a price of £33,995 ($53,654 U.S. at current exchange rates and inclusive of Value Added Tax).
Europe’s first ‘zero range-anxiety’ electric car declared a ‘massive step’ forward
2011-09-08
Luton – What Car?, the UK’s leading consumer focused motoring magazine, has named the Vauxhall Ampera as its Green Car of the Year 2011. The Ampera was also its top alternative-fuel car.
What Car? editor-in-chief, Chas Hallett said: “The Vauxhall Ampera represents a massive step for alternative-fuel cars. It offers all the benefits of owning an electric vehicle with virtually none of the drawbacks. It gives motorists the ability to dramatically reduce their emissions without changing their lifestyle, which is exactly what green cars need to do.”
This isn’t the first time the Ampera has found favour with What Car?’s judges. In 2009, when Vauxhall first revealed details of the car’s clever Voltec system, the Ampera was given the magazine’s prestigious Green Technology Award.
Demolishing the issue of ‘range anxiety’ altogether, the Ampera’s clever Voltec system helps it achieve an incredible *175mpg and combined emissions of below 40g/km, according to official R(EC) 715/2007 regulations for measuring fuel consumption and C02 emissions.
Drivers can expect between 25-50 miles of zero-tailpipe emissions motoring (often enough for a typical daily commute), yet thanks to the Ampera’s innovative range-extender generator, it can be driven for up to 310 miles without having to re-charge the battery or replenish the fuel tank.
“The Ampera takes Vauxhall into a new era,” said Duncan Aldred, Vauxhall’s Managing Director. “It can genuinely be considered a car that can perform a full range of family duties, with its four-seats and five-door body. Yet its 100mph performance and brisk acceleration mean that it can hold its own in the cut and thrust of everyday motoring, unlike many EVs currently on sale.”
There’s already massive interest in the Ampera from UK buyers through Vauxhall’s ePioneers scheme. For a modest £150, potential buyers can reserve one of the first build slots for the car and join a rapidly growing, but still exclusive, group of people who are destined to become the very first Ampera drivers in Britain.
Order books for the Ampera will be open in the UK by the end of the year.
