The Toyota Prius fuel efficiency vehicle has been highly successful since its launch back in 2004. Its hard to believe this industry changing car has been around that long. Five years later and many manufacturers still only have their hybrids on the drawing board. The unique aerodynamic shape of the Prius was a defining feature of the futuristic new hybrid technology by Toyota and the car maker has largely kept the shape the same for the latest version of this amazing fuel efficiency vehicle.
The Prius powertrain is a hybrid system consisting of a 1.8 liter 73 kW petrol engine and a 60kW electric motor. Performance on the road is comparable to most other standard family hatchbacks. Its no sports car but its not designed to be. The Prius has amazing fuel efficiency. This economical car returns gas mileage figures of 51 mpg around town and 48 mpg on the open road. No other family car of this size with a traditional internal combustion engine can come anywhere close to this vehicle for fuel efficiency. Tailpipe emissions are also very good at just 89g of CO2 per km.
As with most other Toyota's, the Prius leads the way in build quality. Mechanically it is very robust, composed of decent quality parts and is well put together. This car shouldn't let you down.
The Prius comes with a range of features at the cutting edge of car technology.
The best of which are included in the optional Advanced Technology Package.
Radar cruise control dynamically alters the speed of this top fuel efficiency
vehicle depending on traffic conditions. The driver doesn't have to brake
or accelerate as the speed of the cars in front change. The radar detects
the Prius getting closer to the vehicle in front, brakes, and then resumes
cruising speed once there is enough room to do so. Automatic lane keeping
is also a neat feature of the Advanced Technology Package, ensuring that
the Prius doesn't wander from its lane on the freeway by steering the car
for you. The parking assist function will perform a reverse parallel park
for you once you have lined the car up next to a spot to park in. The Prius
reverses and steers the car into the space. You just need to apply the brakes.
An illuminated head up display means that you don't need to take your eyes
off the road to look at the instruments. As you can see the Prius isn't
just a great
fuel efficiency vehicle.
Another optional feature of the latest Prius is the solar roof package.
A solar panel on the roof of the car powers an internal fan when the car
is parked to ventilate the interior of the car. It should mean you'll return
to a cooler car. This package also includes remote air conditioning which
is designed to cool the cabin of the car for a few minutes before you get
in. Other options on this fuel efficiency vehicle include an ionizing cabin
air cleaner, LED headlights, voice activated GPS navigation, rear reverse
camera and leather seats with seat heaters. The base model starts out spartan
but the more expensive models are very well equipped and this is reflected
in the large price variation between models. Toyota wanted to create a well
priced base model to open hybrids up to a larger audience.
Considering the environmental responsibility the Prius has taken on, I'm
so surprised that Toyota included the remote air conditioner that runs when
there's nobody even in the car. Air conditioners use a lot of electricity
and this just seems like an unnecessary waste of energy. Similarly, should
the Prius really be incorporating seat heaters? These use even more electricity
than the air conditioner and if Toyota are really serious about the Prius
being a green car then such unnecessary features shouldn't be on the vehicle.
Inside the vehicle you'll find that 5 people can fit quite comfortably. The cabin is really a very pleasant place to be. For the driver everything is laid out well. A large LCD screen shows the power transfer map between the petrol engine and electric motor and displays climate information, navigation system and reverse camera. There are over 10 buttons on the steering wheel which sounds confusing but they are easy to use and allow you to control many functions hands free. Visibility out of the front is great thanks to the large windows but rear visibility is not so good. Ride quality is very good and the car is virtually silent until the petrol engine kicks in at around 25 mph.
This amazing fuel efficiency vehicle is very safe too. It gets 5 stars in crash testing, has 7 airbags and comes with antilock brakes as standard. Stability control is optional. Add to this the outstanding safety technology included if you opt for the Advanced Technology Package and you have one very safe car.
The Prius still leads the way in hybrid technology. Toyota keep on improving the fuel efficiency of the vehicle and more besides. The latest Prius is the best yet. You won't be disappointed with this car.