The 4 Best Vehicles to Use as Taxis
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in the business some time you’ll know the difficulties in choosing which type of vehicle to run. There are so many different makes of car on the road with varying levels of reliability, pros and cons. Here’s our pick of four of the best.
Skoda Octavia
This model has rapidly gained popularity among cabbies for its good looks, huge 624 litres of boot space, 5* Euro NCAP safety rating and frugal fuel consumption of 42-80 mpg according to Parkers with of course the highest figures given by the economical diesel engines. The estate version is the Octavia Scout if you prefer more load-carrying capacity.
Toyota Avensis
This ultra-reliable model has been around for quite a few years now and has a proven reputation for being able to rack up extremely high mileages. Both the saloon and estate versions are available with diesel and petrol engines and the 2.0 litre diesel engine will give a solid 60 mpg according to Autocar’s figures. The Avensis is said to hold its resale value well and you’ll find that even older versions tend to get snapped up pretty quickly when put on sale.
Toyota Prius
Initially the preserve of celebs looking to burnish their eco-credentials the popularity of the Prius has spread far and wide due its reputation for Toyota reliability. If you plan to do mainly town and city work this hybrid engine car will not only give excellent fuel economy but it is welcome in most low emission zones without penalty. According to Autocar testers the Prius will generally give around 62.5 mpg rather than the claimed 94 but that’s still pretty good around town. As you might expect you get a lot of equipment as standard.
Volkswagen Transporter Shuttle
If you’re planning to do airport runs or nightclub pickups then you’ll need something a little bigger and the Volkswagen easily seats 8 passengers and still has plenty of luggage space especially with the long wheelbase version. It is very high-spec and has ABS, ESP, Automatic Post-Collision Braking and Bluetooth connectivity as standard. The 2.0 litre TDI diesel will be the engine of choice for most professional drivers as it gives a reported 47 mpg with CO2 emissions of 155g/km.
Whatever you decide to go for and whether it’s for airport runs, distance work or town runs, make sure you get a good private hire taxi insurance policy in place and you’re good to go. You can save money on taxi insurance by comparing on this site.