Toyota Prius 2003 Review

What we liked
>> Technology that really works
>> Spacious and well designed
>> Vehicle dynamics are sound

Not so much
>> Being green costs money
>> Takes 15 years to amortise
>> Not keen on the name

OVERVIEW
In December 1997 Toyota unveiled the Prius hybrid car to the world. It was a sedan that combined a conventional petrol engine with a regenerative electric motor and battery to return impressive fuel economy. It -- or more accurately, the technology it showcased -- has been widely lauded as the next generation of vehicles which will stretch out the finite supply of fossil fuels we depend so heavily on.

All car companies seem to be reaching the conclusion that fuel cell vehicles -- which converts hydrogen into electrical energy via a complex and environmentally clean chemical process -- are the long term solution to the fossil fuel problem. But most also agree that fuel cells won't reach significant volume until 2020 or beyond, and an interim solution is required. Petrol/electric hybrid technology has emerged as the poster child of the interim revolution.

It's clear after driving the second generation Prius at its Canberra launch in October 2003 that hybrid power is a workable technology that can seamlessly reduce the fuel-based costs of owning and running a vehicle. It's also clear that the high purchase price required for a manufacturer's business plan to have a profitable outcome puts the car out of the mainstream.

Toyota told us the Prius is no longer an irrelevant ideal but a practical solution. Toyota says the second generation Prius "crosses the chasm from science experiment to a mainstream vehicle". We think they're a little premature, but certainly closer than before.

The price for hybrid technology is still too high, making the car it's packed into largely irrelevant. Until this technology is slotted into a Corolla or a Camry or a Prado -- a high volume vehicle -- for a marginal price penalty, it makes little financial sense to buy green.

Do the sums. Take the $36,990 Prius hybrid sedan with its claimed fuel economy of 4.4litres per 100km and compare it to a top spec Toyota Corolla Ultima at $30,990 with a combined fuel economy of 6.7litres per 100km. At 85 cents per litre, you would need to drive nearly 300,000km before the Prius paid off the $6000 more it cost to buy. Given the average car covers 15-20,000km per year, we're looking at 15 years before the Prius earns dollar one.

FEATURES
Prius' biggest attraction is the drivetrain, because let's face it, everything else you can get in a Corolla for less money. For those concerned about dwindling fossil fuels, Prius is the lean, green statement to make. And now the car comes with even less real world compromises; it drives, rides and performs just like a contemporary petrol-powered four-door sedan. That's how new technology should be; seamless and invisible to the user.

Toyota will effectively sell two models, the Prius and the Prius i-Tech. The former was priced at launch at $36,990, the later adds $8100 and a significant array of technology and safety features. Toyota claims a significant step forward in the value for money argument for Prius, saying it has lowered the price by $3000 and raised specification levels by $5000 -- effectively making it $8000 better value.

The Prius dimensions are 27cm longer, 3cm wider and 2cm taller than a Corolla sedan. Toyota claims interior space is equivalent to that of a Camry when measured in litres, but in real world terms the interior is closer in human terms to a Corolla sedan. It will carry four in comfort, and five at a real squeeze.

COMFORT
The first thing you notice is the wide and tall front doors. No stooping or ducking the head, entry is a breeze -- front and rear. The front seats are well padded and comfortable, as is the rear seat bench seat, with two sculpted hollows and lap-sash belts for three. Three in the rear is a kids-only proposition, two adults leave little room for a third of any size in between.

Rear legroom is impressive, and under seat foot space is good. Headroom in the cheaper seats is okay, but an intrusive rear header rail (ahead of the rear windscreen) lies barely an inch or two behind the natural head position, so be careful over bumps! The rear hatchback opens wide and tall making for a large, easily utilised opening. The back seats can be folded forward to improve its already impressive luggage carrying capacity.

The driving position is good, despite the lack of steering wheel telescopic adjustment. The driver's seat adjusts for height, slide and backrest tilt. A centrally-mounted electronic instrument display, which shows revs, speed, fuel, trip distance and other information quickly becomes second nature. The Prius also comes with an informative information centre mounted above the stereo controls, which doubles as a satellite navigation (optional extra) screen, climate controlled aircon adjustment, mechanical power-flow diagram, etc, via a touch screen.

Prius comes relatively well-equipped, as you'd expect for a $36,990 rrp. Standard equipment includes remote central locking, electric windows and mirrors, cruise control, the aforementioned climate control, a single CD player and stylish cloth interior trim.

Ante up the $8100 for the 'i-Tech' kit and gain a cassette player, 6-stacker CD, three extra speakers, Bluetooth compatibility, satnav, VSC vehicle stability control, keyless go and keyless entry. The i-Tech pack includes extra safety features (see Safety below).

SAFETY
Toyota's claiming signifcant improvements in active and passive safety with the second generation Prius. Prius' chassis and body was designed to Toyota's internal GOA standard which takes the highest safety standards from around the world for every area of a vehicle. Essentially it's Toyota's way of making sure its cars meet global safety standards and can thus be exported to any market with minimum fuss.

Dual front airbags are standard, option up to the i-Tech pack and gain side and curtain airbags. Four wheel disc brakes are standard equipment and fitted with ABS, electronic brake force distribution and brake assist. Prius also features motor traction control. Vehicle Stability Control with steering assist is part of the i-Tech option pack.

MECHANICAL
The devil is definitely in the details, we're going to short-cut the lengthy and scientific explanation, and sum up the Prius thus:

A conventional 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine produces 57kW of power and 115Nm of torque. An electric motor, hooked via a CVT which doubles as a power-split device, supplements this relatively meagre thrust significantly, resulting in a real world power of 82kW and real world torque of 478Nm -- that's more torque than a Holden V8 and the real secret behind the Prius' prowess. The beauty of an electric motor is that it can supply maximum torque from zero revs.

When the vehicle is slowing down, either via the brakes or simply coasting, the natural turning motion of the wheels is used to regenerate battery power, ready to supplement the combustion engine the next time the throttle is pushed. The Prius' battery is made up of 28 packs of 6 by 1.2 volt nickel-metal hydride batteries -- the same basic battery-type that's in your mobile phone.

Toyota calls this petrol/electric hybrid arrangement THS II (Toyota Hybrid System II). It uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT) to further improve accelerative performance and fuel consumption. CVT is a gearbox with no gears, rather it uses two cones connected via a chain to infinitely vary the ratio between minimum and maximum based on throttle position, engine speed, road speed and other factors. The theoretical result is that you always have the gear ratio you need, whether for maximum power or maximum fuel efficiency, or somewhere in between.

If you're keen for the full technical rundown, visit the Toyota website and search for information on THS II or the Hybrid Synergy Drive.

If you'd like to read more about the battry pack and its recyclability, check out this article The hidden cost of hybrids".

Prius is fairly conventional in other areas. Its body is of monocoque construction, with independent front suspension and a torsion beam rear. Engine at the front, batteries and fuel tank under the floor and spare tyre out the back (space saver). Its overall weight is just shy of 1300kg, making it heavy for a Corolla-sized car, but not overly so.

COMPETITORS
On technology, the Prius has no competitors at the time of launch. Honda will add the Civic hybrid to its lineup in 2004, and it will be very interesting indeed to see how these two shape up.

On size and performance the Prius has many competitors, from Toyota's own Corolla to others like the Mitsubishi Lancer, Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Holden Astra, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda 323 (soon to be 3), Nissan Pulsar and Subaru Impreza. All offer a similarly sized package, and can match the equipment levels of the basic Prius, if not the i-Tech version.

ON THE ROAD
So, how's it drive? Just like a traditional petrol-powered car, and that's the beauty of this second generation Prius -- no compromises. It goes, stops and turns just like a normal car, meaning that technology doesn't hinder or complicate everyday use.

It rides comfortably over typical Aussie roads, and is very quiet inside. When trailing the throttle, or stationary, the petrol engine switches off for a noiseless environment, yet touch the throttle again and the response is very quick indeed. Nearly seamless.

Acceleration is strong, especially from standstill, and it pulls easily through to cruising speeds. The car is not short on grip in corners and the brakes pull it up without fuss -- if a little jerkily when it comes to a dead stop. Our short introductory drive around Canberra's outer suburbs returned a fuel economy of 5.2 litres per 100km, slightly more than Toyota's claimed 4.4, but miserly nonetheless.

Exemplary road manners aside, Prius is an expensive Corolla. At $36,990 it is around $3000 less than the previous model, and Toyota claims it is nearly $5000 better equipped, making for an $8k price to value turnaround. That's nothing to be sneezed at, certainly making Prius better than it was. But is your green streak strong enough to justify the $6000 extra this car demands over a Corolla? That's nearly 20 percent more money to save around $8 a week. Year 16 is when you'll begin reaping the rewards...

We're convinced of the technology, we're just not convinced the fiscal side of the equation adds up. It's interesting to note that most new technologies first appear in expensive luxury cars where the extra cost can easily be hidden behind six figure retail prices. Hybrid technology is starting at the other end of the scale, and hiding the cost is not so easy.

Prius generation II is easily the best hybrid car offered in Australia at launcch in 2003, but until petrol/electric technology is packaged in a body with wider appeal -- what about a Camry or a Kluger? -- and adds less to the overall price, it will only have niche appeal. Government departments will buy it, after all an example must be set, but private buyers generally milk every drop of buying power out of their purchase, and Prius' price still contains compromises -- even if the car itself doesn't.

BOTTOM LINE: Bottom line: Frugal with fuel but the dollars don't make sense

The hype surrounding Toyota's second generation Prius hybrid has been considerable. How many other cars have been launched with a recycled paper and cardboard press kit with releases detailing lists of Prius-driving Hollywood luminaries and the catchcry, "hybrid is hip?"

What's a hybrid? The heart of the Prius is an advanced computer-controlled powertrain that uses both petrol and electric engines coupled to a CVT transmission. In simple terms the petrol engine powers the car and generates electricity at the same time. That electricity is then stored (in batteries) and can be used as required to power the car, wholly and solely at low speeds, or in concert with the petrol engine when extra urge is required.

Since the second generation Prius' debut in October last year, there have been questions raised about the life span of its battery pack, the replacement cost and relative recyclability. There's been tortured mathematics thrown to and fro regarding the payback period of the admittedly frugal but expensive hatchback. All of which is a shame -- a shame because the story that hasn't necessarily been told is the effectiveness of the Prius as a family runabout.

Lofty ideals aimed at saving the planet and Hollywood stars aside, what we can report is the Prius is roomy, refined and well suited to the demands of an urban or trans-urban family. We subjected our Prius to a full spectrum of normal use: weekday commuting, shopping trips, taxi duties and two weekend jaunts into the nearby hills -- one, ironically, to a 1400-car muscle and classic car display. The key finding was that at no time did we have to make allowances for the fact the Prius was anything other than a conventionally powered vehicle.

Freeway and open road cruising at quasi-legal speeds was fuss-free, and while the Prius is not a car likely to set enthusiasts' pulse racing, overtaking urge on single lane country roads was no worse or better than the average mid-size hatch.

In town the refinement of the package was brought into sharp reality during a 'mid-term' drive of a conventional 1.8lt hatch -- not only did the conventional car seem noisy and coarse by comparison, but standing start and in-traffic urge was 'thin' by comparison.

And after deliberately not sparing the horses, and in warm conditions that saw us use aircon near-100 percent of the time, the Prius still returned an average fuel consumption of better than 5.2lt/100km -- that's better than 50mpg in the old money!

The picture is not perfect, however. At $45K-plus for the I-Tech pack equipped Prius, this is an expensive family runabout. Sure, it's well equipped in terms of convenience and safety features (airbags aplenty, navigation, ABS, stability control, Bluetooth phone ready, remote start and entry, etc) but there are some hiccups that in my mind take crucial points away from the final scorecard.

For instance: How about the fact that basic HVAC control inputs can only be made via the multi-menu touch screen -- and a level or two into it to boot. That's right, you can adjust the temperature via multi-function steering wheel buttons but not the fan speed. And the semi 'heads-up' speedo display at the base of the windscreen might work well during daylight but it produces distracting and potentially dangerous reflections at night.

Meantime the light velour-style interior looks great in the showroom but will age rapidly. Our low-kilometre test car already bore unsightly stains and some signs of wear on the cloth-topped centre console and one seat. At this price leather upholstery would not only 'richen' the cabin but present practical advantages to boot.

If these criticisms seem petty then consider Toyota's proven ability to build near-perfect 'A-to-B' cars. What went wrong here Mr T? Perhaps all the emphasis on the Hollywood underpinnings distracted the backroom boys from the main game…