If past is predictive, people who buy a hybrid-powered
car aren't looking for something that's fun to drive as
much as they are wanting to make a statement about efficient,
reasonably cost-effective personal transportation, and eco-conscientiousness.
The 2004 Toyota Prius easily satisfies the latter wants
without boring the driver.
The Environmental Protection Agency's City/Highway fuel
economy rating of 60/51 mpg puts the Prius at the top of
midsize sedans sold in the U.S. The City rating is deceptively
high, however, because the Prius uses the electric motor
for much of the EPA's city driving test cycle. (Ironically,
Toyota is legally barred from warning consumers of this.)
The EPA's combined rating (which reflects EPA's guess of
a
car's overall fuel economy) of 55 miles per gallon, is higher
than that of any compact sedan sold in the U.S. Its emissions
are the lowest of any conventional car availabe to U.S.
buyers, bettered only by electric cars. Price-wise, it's
not out of line with comparably powered midsize sedans.
Even so, standing on the accelerator returns a pleasant
surprise. Thanks to the electric motor, the Prius launches
without hesitation, although don't count on a chirp from
the front tires. At freeway speeds, merging and overtaking
are accomplished with little fuss. Those wishing to experience
the car's outer limits should expect a leisurely progression
to the car's top speed of around 100 miles per hour, however,
as much of this is done by the gasoline engine's rather
anemic horses.
The Prius' source of power is a conjoining of a gasoline
engine and an electric motor. In a bit of hyperbole, Toyota
calls the combination the Hybrid Synergy Drive. Hybrid it
is; synergistic it isn't, not really. It earns the hybrid
label by combining two, otherwise disparate, means of generating
power to motivate a vehicle. To be synergistic, though,
the resulting power output should total more than the sum
of what the two systems produce when functioning independently.
The hybrid system does not do this. But by complementing
the internal combustion engine's horsepower with the electric
motor's torque, it does make better use of the energy stored
in each gallon of gasoline while leaving fewer nasties in
its wake. The electric motor, which begins cranking out
its 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 in relatively constant
and higher speeds, 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 the car's
waiting at a stop light or even when putting around town
at low speeds. Any time the driver's right foot requests
more motivation than the electric motor alone can deliver,
the gasoline engine instantaneously fires up and joins in.
The transmission is somewhat non-traditional, too. The
Prius uses a continuously variable transmission, which constantly
matches the most efficient drive ratio for
the power output to get the car moving and to keep it moving.
The Prius scavenges as much as is possible of the kinetic
energy contained in a car in motion, linking the brakes
to a generator that recharges the battery when 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. In sum, with all these regenerative
methodologies, there's no need (and no way, for that matter)
to plug the car into an electrical outlet to charge the
battery.
The 2004 Prius rides on regular, commonly available
tires, versus the special, low rolling resistance tires
on the 2003. They're not sporty treads, so don't look for
quick and precise left-right transitions. But they are stickier
than expected, and
quieter than the '03's tires. Some tire noise is evident,
though, no doubt in part due to the diet the designers put
the Prius on in pursuit of those enviable fuel economy data.
Wind noise is nicely subdued by the car's impressive aerodynamics.
Braking is more linear than in the 2003 model. That
car was difficult to bring to a stop smoothly, as the regenerative
system added braking effect beyond the direct control of
the driver's foot. Some new algorhithms in the '04's computerized
management system have made the brake feeling more natural,
less obviously assisted, and managed somewhere else. Tapping
the dash-mounted shift lever to engage the B (engine braking)
function returns a feel much like engine compression braking,
as if the driver had dropped down a gear while slowing.
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Four adults seem to be about the limit for the car's
rear suspension, compressing it to the point occupants will
feel the bump stops on mildly rough pavement. And this is
without any luggage.
