Toyota and a crowd of celebrities have shown us that you don't have to look like Swampy to be enviro-friendly. Matthew Jones sees if the buzz on the new Prius has reached Newport.

Hemp jumpers. Compost heaps. Eco-cars. They're hardly the coolest ways to be environmentally friendly. Well that's what we thought, but in the world of the stars green is definitely the new black. And what's more, the Toyota Prius isn't just a celebrity statement - it's a great car and it's well and truly found its feet in Newport.

The half-battery, half-petrol powered hybrid Prius from Toyota has been on sale in Newport since its release, but the 2004 facelift has gone down a storm in the area.

As Toyota Newport's Matthew Willis said: "In the last seven or eight months demand has really increased for the Prius. A lot of the celebrities have been turning up to the red carpets in them and that's boosted the car's image no end. They're mainly being sold to more mature customers, but it's getting a lot of interest from younger drivers."

Indeed, the celeb roll-call of Prius owners seems to increase by the hour and its must-have image has reached international proportions. Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Moore of the Manic Street Preachers and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin all favour the low-emissions green-minded ride.

And hidden under the bonnet of the Prius is the celebrity of the engine world. New models come equipped with the famous 1.5 litre VVT-i petrol engine that, while propelling the car forward, charges a high-voltage battery hidden under the back seat.

The Prius is designed to run solely on the battery at low speeds, and doing so delivers a near-silent ride, no emissions and zero petrol consumption. If the battery looses its charge then the petrol engine kicks in and provides some energy to the concealed power-plant. Clever stuff.

The combination of petrol and electric power - dubbed by Toyota boffins as Hybrid Synergy Drive - means that it delivers an astonishing average of 65.7 miles per gallon, while the new 2.2 litre diesel Avensis offers a thirsty 47.9 mpg average in comparison.

The Prius also boasts a greener-than-thou 104 grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide emissions, while the Avensis splutters 156 g/km. Eco-friendly differences with other cars don't end under the bonnet either. Even the car's shell and dash trim are made from recycled materials.

But for all its low emissions and monumentally high mpg glory, it does come at rather a sizable premium. The new-look Prius will cost green drivers £17,795 on the road for the most basic model. Although finance is available, the ultra-eco price tag is harder to stomach than a tofu and lentil salad, even for the most hardened environmentalist.

Although Matthew Willis says 'few of the Prius's are coming back to be upgraded to other models', there is the option of a used model. Prices start at a far more palatable £12,000 and your money goes a lot further in terms of spec.

That said, the purchase price will soon seem worth it once when you're paying peanuts to run it.

Matthew says: "The Prius is dirt cheap to run. It's also in band B for road tax which is only £65 a year, that's actually lower than the 1.4 diesel Yaris. A colleague drives a Prius to work and back every day and it only costs him about a fiver to run each week. He doesn't even bother claiming the money back from work because it's so cheap!"

The money saving doesn't end at tiny tax bills and fantastic fuel economy either. The Prius rests in a reasonable insurance band (between seven and eight depending on the model) and, heaven forbid Newport ever has one, congestion charges are gratis.

But probably the best thing about the Prius is not the low running costs or eco-chic image, but the fact that you would never know you're in an environmentally friendly car.

You can boast to all your colleagues and friends about how you're saving the world, then drive off in something that looks and feels like anything else on the road, if not better.

The ride is smooth and comfortable, the handling feels taut and sharp and there are enough gadgets to satisfy the greediest technophile. The sound system's not half bad either - you can blast all the whale-song you like without any hisses or crackles. There really are very few reasons not to like the Prius.

If you look beyond the price-tag, or consider a second hand model, you'll find a practical and pretty saloon that makes driving a car a lot less harmful to the environment. And it's been designed that way round - good car first, friendly to the environment second, and neither the quality nor eco-engine is compromised for the other.

Nor do you have to make a compromise. The Prius, and its entourage of famous endorsers show that you don't have to have a wardrobe of tye-dyed hemp clothes to be in with the green crowd, nor do you have to have the latest Aston Martin to be in with the celebs. So what's your excuse for not buying one?