Toyota Prius delivery more than top economy

With all of the talk and writing about CO2 emissions from modern cars, it was timely to take a drive in the latest generation hybrid Toyota Prius. The car has sold over one million units since its introduction more than 10 years ago. So what makes it special and is it the way to go in the future? The concept of the hybrid car in the Toyota Prius means there is a petrol engine combined with an electric power source to give clean and fuel efficient motoring. Toyota calls it Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive and it provides the car with a computer control system that mixes the power sources on demand. This means that if you want acceleration power, the power of the 1.5 litre petrol engine is combined with the power from the system"s electric motors to give good pace. The electric motors are rated to give about the same power as a conventional 1.0 to 1.2 litre engine. If you want more leisurely country driving then the petrol engine will probably function on its own. For driving in and around the town, the engine mix changes as the driving conditions change. In stop start traffic the electric power kicks in and it"s quiet and clean. And the car has stop start technology, meaning that if you stop the Prius in traffic then the engine stops too, saving power and emissions. The Prius has a clear dash mounted display panel that tells you what"s happening in terms of the source of the engine power. It also shows how the car is regenerating power for the large battery system, which is incorporated into the rear seat back. Once you decelerate and/or apply the brakes, the car converts this into useful electrical energy to top-up the electric motor powered battery system. This means that the battery system is constantly under charge and unlikely to ever run down. And all of this happens without you, the driver, having to make power diverting decisions. The Prius system diverts the power to where it"s needed and draws the power from either the engine or the battery source when it"s needed. With all this clean driving ability, some will consider the Prius to be too sedate a car to drive. The Prius comes with an impressive 10.9 seconds acceleration time on a 0 to 100km/hr race, which is a match for many cars including new turbo-diesel models. And it"s a shade faster than its nearest rival on the market, the Honda Civic Hybrid. With all of this hybrid technology yes, you expect the Prius to be squeaky clean in emission terms. The economy figures are impressive at 4.3 litres/100km (65.5mpg), making it one of the most thrifty cars on the market. With a CO2 rating of just 109g/km the Prius is in the lowest road tax band, Band A, with a rate of just €100 per year. That"s a further encouragement to consider the Prius along with lower prices following the VRT changes, where the price has dropped by almost €3,000. The Prius comes with a list price of €27,005 before delivery charges, making it more competitive than the Honda Civic Hybrid at €28,825. In a rational and practical sense the Toyota Prius is the obvious choice for many motorists, but then car buying is not always about rational decisions. The Prius style is wedge shaped with a styling that doesn"t appeal to everyone. But it is very aerodynamic which adds to its economy. The Prius internal control layout if clear and functional. It has an automatic transmission that uses a small stubby lever for control which sits almost invisible in the dash. The control functions are silent and simple in many cases. The driver seat position in the five-door hatchback is relatively high but front view over the long bonnet can be a problem for smaller drivers. The rear view continues to be my only real negative on the car. The bar that runs across the width of the boot does distract from your rear visibility. The overall impression of the Prius is that it is a clean and easy car to drive. It comes with a respectable Euro NCAP safety rating, so there is no compromise of economy over safety, even though the car is a relatively light vehicle. Up to 16 of the car"s functions, including audio, ventilation and communications controls are positioned on the steering wheel for safer operation. Toyota claims that despite the advanced technology features, the Prius comes with a normal cost effective service schedule. It matches the other cars in the Toyota range with a 30,000km major service and interim 'health and safety' checks with oil change every 15,000km. Prius has made an impression here and that impression is set to grow. The car is now better value than ever at €27,005 before delivery charges, still expensive for a modest size hatchback, but it offers a real solution to higher motoring costs.