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Introduction
The Toyota Prius is more than a car. It's a phenomenon. It's proof that more
people than Toyota imagined want to drive cars with significantly improved fuel
economy and radically less environmental impact. Toyota has boosted production
to keep up with the demand, and the 2006 model benefits from the addition of
new advanced airbags and other safety technology plus new comfort and
convenience features.
This second-generation Prius, introduced as a 2004 model, is larger than the
original, and is now a midsize car. It's roomy, with adult-size back seats and
lots of cargo space. It's pleasant to look at, with sleek, futuristic styling,
easy to spot in a parking lot.
The Prius is rated 60/51 mpg City/Highway by the federal government's
Environmental Protection Agency, with a Combined rating of 55 mpg. You're more
likely to see less, maybe 41 to 48 mpg. Don't blame the manufacturer for the
difference. Hybrid powerplants do well in EPA testing and your driving style
will determine your mileage.
The real justification to buy a Prius is its extremely low emissions. The Prius
produces almost no pollution and is one of the most environmentally friendly
vehicles you can drive. It's an excellent choice for buyers who want to reduce
air pollution and America's dependence on oil. The Prius isn't cheap, but it's
an amazing piece of engineering.
It's important to understand that the Prius is not an electric car. You never
plug it in. And there's no worry about driving beyond the range of the battery.
A small, highly efficient four-cylinder gasoline engine charges the battery as
you drive. No special knowledge is needed to drive this car. It works just like
a regular car: You get in, you twist the key, you put the lever in Drive and
you go. When it gets low on gas, you fill it up.
The Prius is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the United States and in
the world and it's only gaining in popularity. When it debuted as a compact in
2001, Toyota sold just 5,600 in the U.S. By 2003, U.S. sales had expanded to
nearly 25,000. For 2004, Toyota redesigned the Prius, turning it into midsize
car and completely re-engineering its mechanical and electrical systems. It's
now much more attractive to many more people. Toyota sold nearly 54,000 Prius
models in the U.S. in 2004 and nearly 108,000 in 2005. It was praised by the
press and was named 2004 North American Car of the Year by a jury of 50
independent automotive journalists, including the editor of New Car Test Drive.
The 2006 Toyota Prius is not only an impressive technological statement, it's a
car that's easy to like and live with.
For 2006, the headlights and taillights have been redesigned, the interior has
been improved with nicer materials and more features. A host of safety
improvements for 2006 make this feature-packed technological wonder that much
more enticing. Among them: new advanced airbags, a tire-pressure monitor, and
an optional rear back-up camera.
Model Lineup
The 2006 Toyota Prius comes in one well-equipped trim level ($21,725).
Standard features include automatic air conditioning with a micron filter,
fabric upholstery, power windows, door locks and heated outside mirrors; remote
keyless entry; cruise control; a tilting steering wheel with redundant climate
and audio controls; intermittent front and rear wipers; and a six-speaker
AM/FM/CD stereo.
Options are bundled into packages. Package 1 ($650) is the side-impact and
curtain airbags. Package 2 ($825) includes the backup camera, AM/FM/CD/MP3
audio with six speakers, and the Smart Key system. Package 6 ($6,890) bundles
all of the above with leather-trimmed seats, GPS navigation, voice recognition,
Bluetooth capability, a nine-speaker JBL stereo with six-disc CD changer,
electronic Vehicle Skid Control, fog lamps, and HID headlamps.
Safety is enhanced with antilock brakes (ABS), Electronic Brake-force
Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist, and traction control. Standard passive safety
features include new multi-stage, dual front airbags; three-point seatbelts and
head restraints at all five seating positions; and rear seat head restraints
that are adjustable. Curtain airbags designed to offer head protection for
front and rear passengers and seat-mounted side-impact airbags for torso
protection for driver and front-seat passenger are optional ($650). There is
also a tire pressure monitoring system to warn the driver if presures get too
low (which can affect fuel economy as well as safety), and an optional
rear-view camera to help avoid hard to see objects behind you.
Walkaround
The Toyota Prius is beautiful in its simplicity, with graceful, fluid lines
that make it look futuristic.
The pinched-down nose is helpful for knifing through the air with little
resistance. The quarter panels and doors are sleek and clean. The sole
character line is a tasteful indentation in the lower region of the doors,
visually connecting the creases marking the lower limits of the working area of
the front and rear bumpers.
The side view makes clear the stylists' devotion to aerodynamics. A steeply
raked windshield carries the hood's acute angle rearward. An even more steeply
raked backlight (rear windscreen) ends in a high spoiler that trips the air
stream as it leaves the car, maximizing the aero advantage of the car's
almost-vertical back end. Sleek rear quarter windows do more to visually
enhance the aerodynamic look than they do for outward visibility.
The Prius looks under-tired, almost as if the tires were left out when the rest
of the car was made larger. The narrow tires probably help fuel ecnomy, but
they clash visually with the proportions.
The headlights and taillight clusters have been restyled for the 2006 models.
The headlights are compound units that house the running lights, side marker
lights and turn indicators. Vertically stacked, compound taillights wear modish
clear lenses and bookend the lower section of the liftgate. Integrated into the
liftgate, and running its width beneath the rear spoiler, is a strip of glass
adding critical rearward visibility for the driver.
The first-generation 2001-03 Prius was classified as a compact by the EPA, but
the current, second-generation Prius is considered a midsize car. Its wheelbase
(the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels) is about 6
inches longer than before, yielding a more stable ride and more leg room
inside.
Interior Features
The Prius is surprisingly roomy inside. Passenger volume measures 96.2 cubic
feet, which puts it into midsize sedan territory. The back seat offers generous
leg room. The Prius is classified as a five-passenger car, but it's more
suitable for four. Cargo space is 16.1 cubic feet, comparable to that of a
midsize sedan and the hatchback design makes its cargo area flexible.
The seats are comfortable for commutes and short weekend trips. Their forte is
not the multi-hour, multi-state drive. The cloth upholstery looks durable and
is grippy, compensating somewhat for the minimalist bottom and back side
bolsters. Head restraints are adjustable in all five seating positions. The
interior finish is up to Toyota standards, with pleasingly close tolerances
between body panels and interior plastic pieces, and plastics that look and
feel better than the word plastic connotates.
The speedometer, fuel gauge, trip meter, and transmission selection indicator
are tucked into a long, flat, eyebrow-like opening draped across and centered
on the top of the dash where it meets the windshield. The primary gauges are
located in the left half of the opening, but are closer to the centerline of
the car than to the driver.
Climate controls are managed via an LCD screen at the top of the center stack.
This panel also displays user preferences and maintenance needs. Most
entertaining, however, is that it allows tracking of the power and recharging
flows, monitoring battery and gasoline usage. And it serves as the focal point
for the optional navigation system.
Directly beneath the screen is the control head for the sound system. Toyota
deserves high praise for keeping the stereo's most-used functions outside of
the onboard computer's labyrinth and, equally important, for giving it buttons
and knobs that are easy to see, read and use. The base AM/FM/CD six-speaker
sound system is quite capable. We'd have been better able to enjoy the premium
JBL system to its fullest if there had been a bit more sound deadening in the
floorpan and doors, but sound deadening adds weight, the enemy of fuel economy.
Remote switches for the audio, climate and cruise controls are conveniently
mounted on the steering wheel. There are two accessory power outlets. Dome
lights grace the headliner, front and rear. Both sun visors have illuminated
vanity mirrors. These may seem small matters, but they distinguish between
value and cheap.
A tall glasshouse yields exemplary outward visibility. As is the case with many
of the latest aerodynamic designs, the driver can't see the front of the car or
the hood without leaning forward.
Storage spaces are abundant and flexible. The glove box is a two-parter, with
an upper and lower bin opening like a clamshell. The upper glove box is good
for long, narrow items, like gloves. The lower compartment holds bulkier items.
The front part of the center console opens up, also clamshell-like, into two
cup holders. Door-mounted map pockets, expandable magazine holders stitched
into the back of the front seat backs, and an unexpected, semi-secluded storage
bin below the stereo offer additional storage.
Two cup holders pop out of the rear of the console for back-seat riders. An
armrest folds down out of the rear seat back. The rear seats are split 60/40,
each part of which folds to yield an almost-flat floor, without having to
remove the head restraints. There are hidden spaces beneath the cargo floor,
both below and on top of the mini-spare.
Gas pressurized struts ease opening and closing the hatchback. Doors close with
a solid, if not truly impressive clunk; then again, weight savings have to come
from somewhere.
Driving Impressions
Most people who buy hybrid-powered cars aren't looking for something that's fun
to drive as much as something they can drive with a clear conscience. The
Toyota Prius is certainly the latter, but it won't bore its driver, either.
Standing on the accelerator produces a pleasant surprise. The Prius launches
without hesitation thanks to the electric motor's 295 pound-feet of torque from
almost a dead standstill. Merging and overtaking at freeways speeds are
accomplished with little fuss. Those wishing to experience the car's outer
limits, however, should expect more leisurely progress to a top speed of around
100 miles per hour. Speeding calls for horsepower, and as the Prius approaches
its maximum velocity, it relies increasingly on its small gasoline engine for
motivation. Toyota says the Prius can accelerate from 0-60 mph in about 10
seconds, anemic by modern expectations, but then we've come to expect a lot. As
recently as the mid-1950s, legends like the Chrysler 300 and Buick Century
didn't reach 60 mph much quicker than that.
Prius gets its power from a gasoline engine supplemented by an electric motor.
In a bit of hyperbole, Toyota calls the combination the Hybrid Synergy Drive.
Hybrid it is, synergistic it isn't, not by the strictest definition of the
word, which would mean that the total power output would be more than the sum
of the outputs of the gas and electric motors individually. This is not the
case. The Hybrid Synergy Drive does, however, rely on the electric motor even
more than the system in the first-generation Prius, which is how Toyota was
able to make the Prius larger and more practical without compromising its low
emissions or fuel economy. The current model is 30 percent cleaner than the
squeaky-clean first-generation (2002-03) Prius. Toyota claims the Prius
produces about one-tenth as much pollution as the average new car. Some have
described Toyota's hybrid system as an electric motor with gasoline engine
assist, and Honda's system as a gasoline engine with electric motor assist.
By complementing the gasoline engine's horsepower with the electric motor's
torque, the Prius makes better use of the energy stored in each gallon of
gasoline, while leaving fewer nasty chemical compounds in its wake. The
electric motor, which begins cranking out its maximum torque virtually the
moment it starts spinning, gets the car moving and helps it accelerate while
it's underway. The gasoline engine steps to the fore at more constant speeds,
especially during highway driving, where horsepower is more critical for
maintaining a car's momentum.
The hybrid system improves fuel economy further by turning off the gasoline
engine when it's not needed, like when you are waiting at a stop light or even
when puttering around town at low speeds. Any time the driver's right foot
requests more motivation than the electric motor alone can provide, the
gasoline engine fires up and joins in.
The transmission is non-traditional, too. Prius uses an electronically
controlled, planetary gear transmission that functions much like a continuously
variable transmission. This system constantly and automatically selects the
most efficient drive ratio to get the car moving and to keep it moving.
The EPA gives the Prius a City/Highway fuel economy rating of 60/51 mpg with a
Combined rating of 55 mpg. These numbers have generated controversy, however.
Hybrid-powered cars tend to achieve high ratings on EPA tests because the cars
run on rollers, face no wind resistance, and run with the air conditioning shut
off. The electric motor plays a bigger role in these laboratory conditions than
it does in the real world. In one of those strange twists of logic often
produced by law, Toyota is legally barred from advertising any mileage numbers
other than those released by the federal government. Most Prius owners report
much lower fuel economy, while others argue this point. Published reports have
pegged actual fuel economy at 44 to 48 mpg, about 20 percent lower than the EPA
rating.
Emissions are the lowest of any real car available to U.S. buyers. At first
glance, hybrids such as the Prius are bettered by electric cars, but electric
cars are impractical and must be recharged using another energy source that, in
turn, requires fuel. So in the big picture, the Prius is easier on the
environment than electric cars are.
The Prius saves fuel and reduces emissions by scavenging energy that most cars
waste. Regenerative braking links the brakes to a generator, helping use the
car's kinetic energy to recharge the battery whenever the brakes are applied.
Along the same lines, the transmission offers a setting that helps recharge the
battery when the driver merely lifts off the accelerator and lets the car
coast, most beneficially downhill.
The Prius rides on regular, commonly available tires. They are not sporty
treads, so don't look for quick and precise left-right transitions. But they
are stickier than expected, and quieter than the previous-generation's tires.
Some tire noise is evident, no doubt because Toyota skipped some sound
insulation in the interest of saving weight. But wind noise is nicely subdued
by the car's impressive aerodynamics.
Braking is linear, thanks to enhanced algorhithms in the computer that manages
this system. They have made brake feedback more natural, so the brakes don't
feel as obviously assisted and as if they were managed somewhere else. Tapping
the dash-mounted shift lever to engage the B function (for engine braking)
returns a feel much like engine compression braking, as if the driver had
dropped down a gear while slowing.
Four adults seem to be about the limit for the soft rear suspension,
compressing it to the point where occupants will feel the bump stops on mildly
rough pavement. And this is without any luggage. The Prius is better with two
adults and two kids.
Summary
The Toyota Prius sets the standard for environmentally friendly transportation.
It also delivers extremely good fuel efficiency for a four-seat car with an
automatic transmission. Just ignore those EPA numbers. Buyers can expect to
average something north of 45 mpg. Toyota is clearly the leader in hybrid
technology. The Prius is an amazing piece of engineering yet driving one and
owning one is not much different from a conventional car. That's impressive.
NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent Tom Lankard is based in Northern California.
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