Introduction: The Toyota Prius is the first production gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle. The idea of hybrid powertrain is not a new one since many locomotives use a diesel/electric hybrid system before the development of the Prius. The Prius was first introduced in 1997 specifically for the Japanese market. It would be updated and later released to markets outside of Japan in 2001. Using a 1.5L 4-cylinder engine paired with a Ni-MH battery the idea is to use the electric motor to operate the vehicle while the gasoline engine and kinetic braking recharge the battery. The Prius had a competitor by the name of the Honda Insight, a 2-door hybrid coupe that did produce better fuel economy numbers. The problem however was the Prius was a more practical vehicle and had less controversial styling. The Insight would be retired. The Prius would undergo a redesign in 2004, a much larger vehicle than the older model but it was only available as a hatchback. In 2009 once again the newly redesigned Prius this time to once again combat the newly designed 2010 Honda Insight. Regardless of what your beliefs about the Prius, it proved that green car marketing is a profitable business.
When I saw this car myself and the fact we were going to acquire one, I was eager to see if the hybrids are much more different to drive than a regular car. The Prius we got had an unattractive brown colour and was rather aged but its a Toyota so it shouldn't matter.
Performance: Well this was a certainly more different experience than any car I've driven. The electric motor shows its ability to accelerate the car rather quickly for city type driving. Unlike a regular car, the electric motors make no noise at all so while you know your moving...you just don't feel it. Keep in mind the gasoline motor starts to kick in once you start going faster so all the sudden you will hear noise once you approach highway speeds. The gasoline motor is not very impressive and the smooth quickness from the electric motor starts to slow down quickly. The Prius gets an acceleration time of 0-100 km/h in 10.5 seconds. You sort of expect this for a vehicle that produces a net horsepower of 110hp.
My Score: 4/10 - The electric motor moves the car well, the gasoline engine unfortunately shows the lack of power however.
Handling: While the aerodynamics on the Prius are excellent, the handling of the Prius falls short in a few areas. First things first, the tires. Normally I don't bother with tires but the Prius in order to get the maximum fuel economy out of the car you have to stick with the tires given. The problem is in order to get the best fuel economy they lack grip and without grip the handling will be poor. The electronic power steering is very numb while not nearly as numb as a 2009 Corolla's there just isn't any feel to it. Lastly the electronic overlords like the traction control interfere frequently when you take corners a bit more aggressively. If you attempt to push the Prius you'll see a car trying to turn with screaming tires but still going mostly straight due to major understeer.
My Score: 2/10 - Bad tires, lack of steering feel and aggressive electronic overlords.
Interior: The Prius' interior is once again another different experience. The materials are of decent quality except the gear lever which is really small and flimsy. The dashboard is actually in the center with digital read outs instead of traditional analog gauges. What strikes me as odd is the digital readouts are the same colour as my Cressida's digital dash a design 24 years ago while failing to take notice of the Toyota Soarer's(Lexus SC300/400) cleaner modern dash. Regardless I like that part since I do believe we live in the 21st century and cars should reflect that. The car also has a push button start and also a push button park. The one item that gets most people's attention is the video screen in the center...I didn't like it very much. Some people love to see how good their fuel economy is or whether the battery is charging, etc. I just hope they don't do this while driving because you really have to take your eye off the road to do so. A few other traditional functions are taken away because of the screen. Your climate control buttons are on the steering wheel...but for exact adjustments you'll have to go back to that screen which annoyed me. The rear spoiler...is a bit of a spoiler since it decreases your rear visibility more so than regular spoilers, the view is split with the spoiler in the median of your rear windscreen. The Prius is made in Japan, as I've seen with all Japanese cars made in Japan I haven't seen build quality faults.
My Score: 6/10 - A modern dash, spacious, but a gimmicky screen and a dumb spoiler.
Styling: The Prius' styling is mostly done by engineers. Without this smooth shape the car is less likely to achieve its impressive aerodynamics. The problem is, its not a thing of beauty. I don't really understand the gimmicky tail lights and the front doesn't have very much expression. The Prius is however unique in the way it looks so I can't really fault it badly here.
My Score: 5/10 - Strange but unique
Value of Money: This is a very very tricky one. The Prius has a very high MSRP for a vehicle in the same class as a Corolla. Those cars can be had with less than $20,000 while the Prius will often strike $30,000 all things included. The government rebates do not lessen this burden enough, they're actually better used for the subcompacts like the Toyota Yaris. The high initial cost is really the big factor, will you drive the car enough to make enough return through savings from the pump? The prices at the pump determine some of this, if they are lower it will take much longer to recoup the costs if they're very high it will be much sooner. There are alternatives, subcompacts get great fuel economy have low initial costs and low maintenance costs. Newer diesels provide better fuel economy and have excellent reliability(engine-wise) so long as your near stations that provide diesel fuel. As I mentioned in the performance section, the Prius is not great for the highway and since it needs the gasoline motor for those speeds you'll achieve much poorer fuel economy results while powerful V6 vehicles get significantly better mileage for that sort of driving.
My Score: 6/10 - The only choice if you drive in the city a lot and often idle a lot with no diesel station nearby.
Overall: 23/50 - This car is tailored to specific needs, it most likely won't fit most people's needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment