T.25 City Car goes micro, greener than 2010 Toyota Prius

No doubt, the 2010 Toyota Prius is the mainstream hybrid vehicle and is nearly synonymous with fuel efficient, easy-to-use cars (despite Toyota’s recall woes). Toyota did a great thing with its hybrid synergy drive because it built a product that customers embraced - but naturally that begs the question how can we become even more efficient? British engineer Gordon Murray thinks it’s time to go micro to the extreme with his T.25 City Car.

Think the Smart ForTwo is small, the Toyota iQ? They are, but the T.25 is smaller. And yet, it’s capable of seating 3 people while averaging 74 mpg! Two T.25s can drive alongside each other in a single standard traffic lane, and Murray suggests cities may want to empower drivers to do so. It could increase traffic throughput threefold effectively reducing jams during peak travel hours.

“It weighs about 1,200 pounds and measures 94.5 inches long, 51.1 inches wide and 55.1 inches tall. The driver sits front and center, with two passengers behind . . .”, according to Wired. The T.25 can nearly do a 360 degree turn in place which means entering and leaving parking spaces is a cinch. But it gets better.

Beyond the 74 mpg bragging rights, the T.25 is built using a manufacturing process that eliminates an entire step, the body panel press shop. The process also assembles all major parts in the chassis before placing pre-painted body panels. That means a smaller manufacturing plant, which uses less energy and is in line with the T.25’s micro theme.

Safety is a concern for many people when they look at small vehicles and Murray took that concern head on by integrating a safety cell and tubular steel frame. Acceleration is mediocre at best taking about 16 seconds to hit 60mph. If everything goes as planned it will certainly be affordable with an expected price of around $9,000 it’s certainly a green option to consider for anyone doing city driving.