If like me, you thought the first U.S.-spec Toyota Prius hybrid car was pretty neat, then you’ll love the second generation, which is not only larger, it’s also even more fuel-efficient and better styled.
In fact, given the whole range of innovative options, this new Prius has to be the high-tech car of the decade.
Even if you’re not a green, you’ll find yourself playing with such gadgets as the all-new throttle-by-wire and shift-by-wire systems, enhanced stability control, regenerative antilock brakes, electric inverter air conditioning (no belts) and "smart" entry system (touch the door handle with the "key" — an electronic remote — in your pocket and the doors automatically open). Japanese customers get an automatic parking feature, but the West is apparently not ready for it yet.
There’s also an ultracool Bluetooth-enabled navigation system, which interacts with your similarly equipped cell phone. Say "I’m hungry" and the screen pops up available restaurants in the area, with contact information. It will even dial their numbers for you (though you have to make the reservations). You can make and answer hands-free calls using the car’s built-in speakers and the navigation screen’s keypad.
Meanwhile, you’ll be monitoring what the Prius’ hybrid drive, climate control and audio system are up to through menus with more graphic capacity than USA Today. This is a $19,995 car ($26,000 fully optioned) that feels like a $40,000 car.
The centerpiece of the Prius, of course, is its Hybrid Synergy Drive, which combines a 76-horsepower Atkinson Cycle 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a 50-kilowatt electric motor (up from 33 kilowatts); a more compact, 38-percent higher output battery pack, and a controller that captures a greater amount of regenerative braking energy.
According to Dave Hermance, an environmental engineer with the Toyota Technical Center, this results in a mid-sized liftback that achieves 60 miles per gallon on the highway, 51 mpg in town. Formerly a compact, the Prius now rivals the interior space of the Camry, and the rear hatch combined with fold-down rear seats make it outstandingly versatile.
The best way to evaluate a car’s environmental performance is to give it a "wells to wheels" analysis, meaning that you follow the energy path from generation to use in the car. An independent evaluation might come up with different results, but Toyota’s own work shows the Prius’ 29-percent overall efficiency as rivaling the best of the current fuel-cell prototypes. The Prius’ super-low emissions are 90-percent less than a conventional internal-combustion vehicle, allowing it to meet the coveted Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle standard in California.
And it’s a blast to drive. I traded the wheel on a fall tour of the Westchester, N.Y., countryside with Ira Flatow, executive producer of NPR’s "Science Friday," and we agreed that it handled superbly, barely revealing its hybrid technology. With its constant-velocity transmission, the car never downshifts, so there’s just steady power when you put your foot in it, and zero-to-60 times of 10 seconds. The weird joystick shifter took some acclimatization.
The new Prius will be followed by hybrid versions of the Lexus RX330 and Toyota Highlander SUVs. Nissan also will field a hybrid Altima using Toyota’s licensed technology. According to Prius’ marketing manager, Ernest Bastien, the company will produce 36,000 of the cars for the U.S. market in 2004, and about the same number for Japan. Given the 10,000 advance orders for this extraordinary car, expect them to sell out.
And bear in mind: The feds have released a study concluding that reducing vehicle weight can cause a greater number of fatalities, but the heaviest "Hummer-sized" vehicles also need to shed some poundage. I’ll have more to say about this later.
