DAIHATSU has enhanced the appeal of its award-winning Hijet microvan range with the offer of Euro III LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) versions.

The Bi-Fuel conversion means each vehicle has two fuel tanks, the standard petrol tank and a similar sized LPG tank, almost doubling the vehicle's overall range.

Once the Hijet's lively 65 PS 1.3 litre engine is running, simply flicking a switch on the dashboard allows the driver to change between LPG and petrol at any time.

The LPG conversion is available across the whole two-wheel drive Hijet range, which includes the van and pick-up, Big Deck pick-up, Tipper and six-seater MPV. It is also available on the van and six-seater MPV from the recently launched Hijet 4x4 range, and Daihatsu is actively developing the system to fit all four-wheel drive models.

The conversion costs £1,700, but because the Hijet qualifies for the maximum contribution towards this cost from the Government's TransportAction 'Powershift' programme, 60 per cent of the conversion cost -- £1,020 - can be reclaimed on vehicles registered from 1 April, 2002.

Daihatsu is therefore able to offer LPG Hijets for only £680 (excluding VAT) more than the standard petrol equivalents, which start at £5,995 (excluding VAT, first registration fee and delivery). The cost of the conversion is already included in each vehicle's basic retail price.

Andrew Edmiston, managing director of Daihatsu Vehicle Distributors, said: "The obvious benefit of using LPG is that it costs about only half as much as petrol, yet offers similar levels of efficiency and power output.

Independent tests show it costs about 6.14 pence/mile to run a Hijet on LPG, compared to 9.37 pence/mile for petrol, a saving of more than one third (35 per cent) for every mile travelled, a considerable saving for LPG users over time."