More Green Zone Drive events on the way

Melbourne's Green Zone Drive low-emissions vehicle test event has been an overwhelming success, say the event's organisers.

The eight-day event, held at a test circuit in Docklands, saw a total 21 participant LEVs cover 3720 km in more than 1000 test drives. Its website drew 35,000 hits from 10,000 unique visitors.

The aim was to demystify LEVs and the technologies under their bonnets by giving Melburnians a go at the wheel, during which most would likely have found that while there are certain differences, they actually feel just like normal cars to drive. Important to this was that all vehicles available for test drives are available locally as the public saw them at Docklands.

Asked about the possibility of future events, Green Zone Drive spokesman John Kananghinis told the Carsales Network the organisation and its backers are fielding a number of offers from prospective backers interstate.

"We're looking at three different events over the next 18 months or so. Basically that means scoping out the business case for each one on questions of where, when and the scale of each. Certainly the backers of the one just gone have been very happy with the response. The Victorian government and the RACV are looking at making a regular thing of it."

Predictably, Mitsubishi's i-MiEV -- perhaps, as the first EV to go on sale in Australia, the least ordinary member of the fleet -- drew the most attention. Toyota might have heaved a sigh of relief, too. Much has been made -- not altogether fairly -- about sales shortfalls for its Prius and locally made Hybrid Camry models, but they, too, proved a hit during the event.

Green Zone Drive also provided a valuable leg-up for local EV conversion specialist Blade, which put its Electron Mk V -- a converted Hyundai Getz -- up for real-world evaluation by uninitiated drivers.

The model range covered sedans, hatches small and large, SUVs and people movers. Big-name European marques were well represented, too, with Audi, BMW, Citroen and Volvo putting advanced petrol and clean diesel models up for evaluation. Hyundai and Ford also made a mix of petrol and diesel models available.

Organisers noted an even age spread from young to old among those who booked tests. RACV Manager Environmental Programs Simon Mikedis said in a statement that the organisation took this as indicating "a broad level of desire to experience low emission vehicles across the car driving public".

Others involved in getting the event going include the Australian Conservation Foundation, the 50BY50 Global Fuel Economy Initiative, and Greenwheels -- the joint initiative of Future Climate Australia, RACV and EPA Victoria giving consumers information on LEVs available in Australia. Commercial sponsors included Shell, Michelin and Better Place.

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