I have driven a Prius for six years and 120,000 miles and, if Toyota had asked me, I would have told them to go for the best fuel economy rather than higher performance.

The last thing that a Prius owner worries about is speed or acceleration so why focus on increasing them? It won’t make me rush to replace the one I have.

What’s the point in making the new one go even faster when the old one can already do well over the 70mph limit? I never find any problem with overtaking. My Prius has made me drive more gently, partly because you can see the fuel consumption displayed on a chart in front of you. You also get a nice feeling when driving around town and running on the battery rather than revving the engine.

But Toyota must have done its research. No car company has a better record of predicting what the market will want to buy. Despite all the concern expressed about the environment, people are still obsessed by a car’s performance. There are too many people being influenced by Top Gear.

Wayne Hemingway is a designer and founder of the Red or Dead label