The new visitor to New York is often struck by three big impressions: the people are friendlier than we’ve been led to believe, the streets really do look like the films, and the choice of car to serve as the standard taxi appears to have been made by a carefree madman with shares in Ford.
The Stretch Crown Victoria is an enormous barge of a thing with very little room in the back for passengers and only moderate boot space, inaccessible to most passengers trying to board in heavy Manhattan traffic. Its 4.6 litre V8 sucks in a gallon of fuel for every 18 miles of travel – comparable to a Jaguar XKR sport coupe – and its small, low back doors make it difficult to get in if you use a stick, never mind a wheelchair.
Ford is finally drawing production of the Crown Vic to a close this year, so New York has been running a competition to find a successor. Two other models – The Ford Escape hybrid 4×4 and the Toyota Sienna MPV – are already in use. The rather odd choice of a 4×4 for a city taxi is justified by its hybrid drive and slightly better fuel economy, and the Sienna allows easier access.
Neither of these would be an iconic design statement though, and councils of big cities do love an iconic design statement, so the competition entries have been whittled down to three contenders: adapted versions of the Ford Transit Connect and Nissan Public, and the all-new Karsan V1.
The Ford can still only manage 19mpg, the Nissan still barely has room for three people in the back and the Karsan only existed in design form.
That is, until now. A prototype went on display at the New York garage of the Classic Car Club, and looks as though it’s a clear winner on the ingenuity of design, at least.
The floor is flat and an automatic ramp is fitted as standard to allow easy access, the sign on top is digital to make it easier to see whether the cab is for hire and which way the passengers are about to get out of, there are four seats including one that faces the rear and folds up when it’s not needed, there’s room for luggage in the cab so there’s no need to open the boot just because you have a couple of suitcases and the transparent roof allows passengers to gaze at the skyscrapers in wonder.
As Karsan is a Turkish company and Turkey is yet to establish itself as one of the great auto-making countries there might be some scepticism about their claims to ruggedness and reliability. Ford have the advantage of being the home team and Nissan have three factories in the US, making them a slightly patriotic choice, if not exactly true blue.
The survey is now closed, so the choice is up to the city officials. If they can’t make up their minds, I hear that London Taxis International are always looking for new markets for their TX4.
The Telegraph
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