Toyota PRIUS

JUST earlier this month, Toyota’s third-generation Prius became the first fuel-sipping petrol/electric hybrid to emerge the top-selling car in Japan.

Launched in May, it did not merely outsell other vehicles in or near its segment, it outsold tiny 660cc minicars and everything else in the market. It was the overall best selling car, period.

That’s quite a landmark for a hybrid car and it’s interesting to see how quickly things are shaping up.

What was not too long ago looked upon as a viable alternative, a greenie’s symbol and an icon for the Hollywood set, is now the accepted staple for mobility.

UMW Toyota have wasted no time in bringing in a sample of this impressive fuel sipper for review.

And we were fortunate to be able to give it an extended workout on local soil.

First off, let’s just say that the latest Prius comes with the credentials for achieving the best fuel efficiency in the world for a mass-produced petrol-powered vehicle (as measured using the 10-15 test cycle of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism).
What does that translate into for the common man? How about travelling 38km for every litre of petrol that you pump in?

Or RM4.70 of petrol for 100km — something that puts much smaller cars to shame.
Do bear in mind, however, that the car is expected to be priced close to a Toyota Camry 2.4V – somewhere in the region of RM170,000 when it is launched next month.

The shape of the future
It might be roughly the size of a Toyota Altis but this flag bearer for evolving hybrid technology takes things much further.

With its intelligent energy-management system, this full hybrid can use both its 98hp VVT-i 1.8-litre engine or its 80 hp electric motor or either, depending on driving needs. It also charges the battery on-the-go and while braking.

On the road, what you get is a car whose identity is in little doubt.
The moment you drive one, heads turn in your direction as you are in something clearly out of the ordinary.

The distinctions begins at the insignia level with the Prius badge getting a bit of a bluish glow to differentiate hybrid cars from the purely fossil fuelled Toyotas.
From its streamlined low nose and high tail body styling – what Toyota calls “ECO-Iconic,” you’d know that the Prius is built to cleave through the air with minimal drag, claiming a super sleek rating of 0.25Cd.

The science fiction-like spread might appear intimidating at first with its array of displays, control buttons and a short gear shifter stub that looks more at home in a game controller console.

But with a few minutes of familiarisation, anyone can get the Prius up and running.
Silence is golden
There is no slot on the dash for you to place the Smart Entry & Start key fob. You can start the car with the key inside your pocket or handbag.
Just step and hold the brake pedal down and push the “Power” button.

Didn’t hear the petrol engine firing up but just a “Ready” sign lighting up the instrument panel? Well, the Prius is all ready to go. Just release the parking brakes and shift the car into “D.”
Tap on the throttle and the Prius moves forward with a near inaudible electric motor whirl.
Except for the soft sounds of the tyres rubbing the asphalt, it was eeriely quiet inside.
Using the patented Toyota Hybrid System II, the Prius takes off on battery power. The petrol engine does not start until the car reaches a certain speed.

But when the engine does kick in, it’s a silent and seamless affair and you realise that the Prius feels livelier now.
Harder acceleration sees the petrol engine and electric motor running together for maximum boost.

The petrol engine will shut down at slow cruising speeds, the car relying on battery power alone so you don’t burn up petrol unnecessarily.
Lifting off the throttle pedal also causes the Prius to automatically shut down the petrol engine, and activate the regenerative braking feature – where the braking energy is converted into electricity and stored in the special nickel metal hydride battery unit.
The instrument panel with easy-to-understand graphic shows whether the Prius is running on petrol or electric power. It also indicates whether the Prius is charging up the hybrid battery on its own.

You can get the Prius to run on electric power alone especially when caught in slow city traffic by pressing the EV (Electric Vehicle) mode button.
As long as there’s enough juice in the battery and you are not going beyond 45kph, the Prius behaves as a super silent electric car.
In addition to the normal drive mode, there are also the power (PWR) and fuel economy (ECO) modes – depending on whether you are in the mood for a sportier drive or just feeling stingy with petrol.

A head-up display system keep you informed of the vehicle speed and the ECO Drive Monitor data at the windscreen without the need to look at the instrument panel.
Toyota says the battery should last the life of the car and claims some Prius owners in the United States have clocked up to 400,000km without replacing their batteries.

Facing the lead-footed
Our petrol headed colleagues who sampled the Prius media test car were more curious over its performance than its fuel-sipping qualities.
“Are you sure this Prius is not going to be underpowered?”, “Can this car go fast?” – the questions abounded.

Eventually, those who drove it left satisfied. The Prius is quite fast and more than able to hold its own against similarly sized cars of conventional propulsion.
And despite the softer, comfort-oriented suspension setup, the car holds the line well in fast corners. On the straights, it felt confident and composed, even at very high speeds.
In our four days with the car, we admit we got rather carried away at times, driving the Prius as if it was built more for speed than fuel economy.

With the mix of occasional heavy footed-driving, start-stop city driving and a long distance dash from KL to the in-laws’ place in Bidor and back, we managed to use up nine of the ten bars in the fuel indicator for a distance of close to 660km.
Although our consumption was off the official super frugal mark, we figured that the Prius still did well.

In fact, our number is still much better than that of my wife’s 1.3-litre Perodua Myvi driven at a leisurely pace.
Imagine, if you will a full tank of 45 litres, a daily mileage of 100km and the claimed fuel economy of 38km per litre - which some slightly more restrained driving than ours can bring about.
Figure on close to two weeks before your next visit to the pumps.