The only way to go! (Toyota Prius)

Member Name: Jpdm

Product:	Toyota Prius
Date:	18/05/01 (1713 review reads)
Rating:

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For those among you that have not heard of this car before, it is a fairly recently introduced eco-friendly family car from Toyota.

Personally, I hadn’t heard of it before up until the time I entered one of a Japanese colleague. I have to say that from the outside it doesn’t make much of an impression. I normally wouldn’t go for a car like this, but after hearing about it, I went to my local dealer and took a prospectus and I am actually considering its purchase.

What changed me? You have to see the dashboard of this car. It reminds me of some kind of home entertainment system. The hi-tech dashboard features a multi-information display, centrally positioned for easy of viewing. Honestly, I can’t imagine looking at the centre to see if I have any petrol left in the tank. However, my friend quickly persuaded me that it is all a matter of getting used to. Anyways what’s so spectacular isn’t that the display provides the normal information (audio system’s status, outside temperature), but that it also gives all the details about the workings of the hybrid system and fuel consumption screen.

Really that did it for me. A hybrid car and in this case a combination of a 33kW electric motor and a 1.5litre petrol engine can be employed either separately or in combination, to produce the most efficient performance. At start-up, you see, the Prius is powered solely by the electric motor – meaning that there are no emissions whatsoever. As speed picks up, the petrol engine not only takes over, it also generates electricity to power the electric motor that drives the wheels and to charge the battery pack. In specific circumstances, like when full acceleration or when climbing a hill, the electric motor provides extra power, thereby saving fuel and further reducing emissions.

Now, it is known that not a lot of people would opt to buy such a car. With a top speed of 99mph and 0-62mph in
13.4sec it hardly is a “meaty”, full of grunt vehicle. Despite that, with the price of petrol rising constantly – no matter what everyone promises before the forthcoming elections – and when considering that Toyota boasts that Prius returns 61.4 miles per gallon on the urban cycle, I’d say I am all for it.

My philosophy is that a car is something that takes you from A to B, where you cannot use the public transport to take you there. I am not interested in doing 130mph in the M25 (that’s a joke!) or fearing for the insurance costs. If you also require a nature “friendly” car with it also being economical then you might want to consider Prius as an option.

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Just after finishing this opinion, I remembered that I had seen a hybrid car test on Top Gear where there was a comparison between the Prius and a similar hybrid vehicle from Honda albeit that was a 2-seater. Whoever is interested in eco-friendly cars should look at that.

Another detail I just remembered is the boot space. I seem to recall previously launched electric cars whose boot was used to place the batteries. As far as the hybrid cars that are mentioned above this could not be more untrue. The batteries, not being the only form of power used, are much smaller and do not particularly limits the boot space. I reckon that Prius being a saloon car would easily allow for 3-4 bags to be place in the back.

Finally I had heard that there would be a new tax directly related to the emissions generated by cars. I am not sure if this is presently put under its paces, but that will be another blow for the motorists.

EACH ONE OF US COULD MAKE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE IF WE WOULD LEAVE OURS CARS AT HOME. PUBLIC TRANSPORT CAN GET US THERE JUST AS WELL IN MOST CASES.

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