WHERE Oxford led the way, the Mayor of the Hertfordshire town of Stevenage has followed.

Councillor Graham Clark has broken with tradition and switched to hybrid synergy drive for his new official car, using a Toyota Prius to fulfil his official engagements.

The five-door Prius hatchback is a black T-Spirit model with black leather interior. The top grade was chosen to provide the Mayor with the benefits of satellite navigation, Bluetooth communications technology and the safety-conscious Intelligent Park Assist system as standard.

The Prius petrol-electric hybrid has low carbon emissions at only 104g/km. Its combined-circuit fuel consumption of 65mpg will make considerable cost-savings possible on a car expected to cover some 15,000 miles a year on official business, much of this mileage around town. The Mayor's previous car was a Rover 75.