Revhead Ramblings: Is This the End of the Black Cab as We Know It?

We’re now resigned to the fact that the world is changing, but who can complain? We’ve advanced so far in such a short space of time; it’s remarkable. However, even for the most forward-thinking amongst us we couldn’t have imagined these changes to the iconic black cab 10 years ago.

The black cab is a truly British icon, along with the Queen and The Beatles. The first authentic black cab was the Austin FX-4 debuted in 1958, this led to the production of the TX1 in 1997 and the TXII in 2002. The final variation was the TX4, commonly seen on today’s roads featuring a 425 DOHC diesel engine from Italian engine manufactured by VM.

Over 130,000 black cabs have been built in the past 60 years, with two thirds of them sold in London via a dealership in Islington. After the successful run of the current cab it’s time for a refresh. Contrary to previous facelifts this will be more than surface deep and change the premise of the black cab forever…

Transport for London – the capital’s transport authority – has set a deadline of January 2018 for all newly-licenced taxis to be either electric or hybrid, and it is expected that more than 9,000 electric taxis will be on London’s roads by 2021.

Therefore, the newest option from the London Electric Vehicle Company required a complete re-structure to remain compliant with the new law. They’ve opted for a part electric power train in the new model, this means it can travel up to 80 miles on electric power alone and around 400 miles with the petrol generator charging the batteries. For context, the average cabbie covers 200 miles per day in London. The TX eCity can also be charged to 80% in the space of 20 minutes thanks to numerous rapid charge points across the capital.

The overall comfort has been vastly improved too, thanks to abandoning the diesel engine, the new model won’t suffer from that trademark shaking. Space in the back has increased slightly too, with the middle forward-facing seat being pushed out to avoid rear passengers rubbing elbows. Creature comforts come in the form of WIFI, 2 USB ports and a single household socket for more heavy-duty items like a laptop, or a hairdryer.

Luxury for the driver has seen an improvement too, the cab is built by Geely a Chinese manufacturer who also happen to own Volvo, therefore the front cabin resembles a Volvo S90 more than its predecessor. With a 12-inch infotainment screen, steering wheel and seats all stolen from the Swedish SUV.

All of this new technology does come at a premium however, at £55,599 it’s over £10,000 more expensive than its fossil fuel driven equivalent. Reports from LEVC however say the average cabbie will save around £100 a week on fuel. They’re also offering a business lease like on most commercial vehicles, the monthly payments should be around £177 for 5 years.

Current taxi drivers are sceptical however, their main worries still revolve around the cost and the lack of charging points around the capital. To add further worry to the TX eCity, the ever-popular Nissan NV-200 has become fully electrified, this offers 106 miles of range and 7 seats. Metrocab have also thrown their hat into the ring, their offering has a smaller range than the eCity but the firm suggests it shouldn’t cost more than its diesel equivalent (£33,000); another enticing option…

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