HE drives more than 1,000 miles a month for his job and voluntary role with the Scouts.

So Simon Corrigan wanted to find out whether he would benefit from switching to a greener car.

The web designer from Romsey was handed a Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid for six weeks after winning a Scout Association competition as part of the Governmentbacked Go Ultra Low initiative, launched by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Now Simon is counting the cash he has saved as part of the experiment – which would work out at more than £2,000 a year.

Simon, 31, has been driving the car – which has a petrol engine and an electrical battery – to meetings, scouting trips, business events and weekend errands.

It will cover around 15 miles on electrical power alone but switches to the petrol engine when the charge is too low.

The battery takes 90 minutes to charge – at a cost of 33p – using a cable that plugs into a normal household socket. It needs charging daily.

It was free if Simon used a charging dock while shopping at a supermarket such as Asda in Totton.

One obvious drawback is the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid’s £28,395 price tag but Simon is still a convert.

He said: “This car has exceeded my expectations and been great fun to drive. Having a car that is more efficient is brilliant and has had a huge impact on my fuel bill, so the extra cost wouldn’t bother me.

“It’s actually not that different in terms of what I can do with it. People think it might be slow or can’t go for as long but that’s not true.

“The car is a normal Toyota Prius petrol engine but also has an electric battery so I can drive around just on electricity for about 15 miles with one battery charge, which for local driving means I spend no money on fuel.

Simon’s voluntary work with the Scouts takes him across the country working with the Explorer division for boys between 14 and 18 years old. He also used the car to commute to his job as a web designer.

In six weeks he has driven more than 2,000 miles.

His fuel bills were cut from £225 a month to £48. Charging cost him an additional £13.86 maximum.

“It’s a lovely car and has all the features you would expect.

“The more people getting out and trying these cars, the more it will make a difference. They fit in with all sorts of lifestyles and don’t hinder you in any way. I have definitely been converted.”

  • Simon’s current annual fuel bill: £2,700
  • Annual fuel bill with the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid: £576
  • Annual cost of charging the battery: £120
  • Total annual saving: £2,004