WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE

There’s an unwritten rule in the office when it comes to who drives what test car. One of them is that Weekend Wheels editor Brendan Seery and I don’t drive what we call the ring-dingdings – the small budget-type cars I often refer to as appliances.

So I am not sure how I came to find myself behind the wheel of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid – especially since, much to the frustration of my son and certain acquaintances, I’m not exactly the “green” man when it comes to cars.

It might have been Brendan’s sense of humour – it was the week after I had tested Toyota’s 86 Limited (I know, Brendan, it’s more Subaru than Toyota), which had me smiling whenever I drove it.

Even my wife, a firm believer in all things Toyota, raised an eyebrow when the hybrid pulled into the driveway.

She, like most of us, has heard of the term “hybrid”. We’re very much a fuel-driven society and tend to think of hybrid technology as something green that should give us a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Well, I suppose that with a reduced carbon emission of 82g/km and a combined cycle of less than 4 litres to 100km, the echo warriors are bound to be less grumpy.

But it’s going to take a while before we fully embrace hybrid technology.

With all the trucks, buses and cars billowing smoke into our atmosphere – and, of course, the odd Eskom power station when it is on line, it’s probably a losing battle.