Toyota Prius: The automotive world's iPhone

Read our Toyota Prius news report here.

What is it about Toyota's Prius hybrid that attracts actors? The fuel-efficient small car is owned by well known thespians the likes of Cameron Diaz, Robin Williams, Leonardo Di Caprio, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts. Note that these are people who have outlaid their cold, hard cash for the car.

Cynics will argue that these Prius owners have the disposable income to splash on a save-the-world car that costs more than the average buyer could afford to spend on a new car. And they will also argue that none of the actors are especially well known for being car enthusiasts.

To address -- but not necessarily answer -- these points, we decided to let loose a handful of Carsales Network staff to drive 'our' Prius along a set test route. Their task? Assess the vehicle for its practicality and suitability for their specific needs.

At the top of the rise, Princess Street descends sharply to the intersection with the Chandler Highway, where we turned left and then left again almost immediately to enter the Eastern Freeway.

The freeway was a chance to try the Prius in power mode and one of our drivers had a brief opportunity to sample the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control before exiting the freeway at Hoddle Street. This major arterial road (four lanes in each direction) is crossed by thoroughfares at light-controlled intersections along the way and is restricted to 70km/h.

At the Bridge Road intersection in Richmond, we turned left and the drivers played with the Prius in EV mode along the 40km/h shopping strip. Tootling along in EV mode for up to five or six minutes reduced the average fuel consumption of the Prius back to 4.6L/100km from 4.7, despite the drivers using the car's Power mode to its full extent on the freeway.

Bearing right onto Burwood Road, the drivers were on the homeward leg. A total distance of approximately 14km took roughly half an hour to complete during the course of a weekday afternoon.

Obviously none of these dudes are ladies. We had no volunteers from our female staff. For shame on them...

Our Prius troupe is not technology-averse -- which augured well for the Prius. On the other hand, two of them (Dossett and Scott), drive a Mazda3 MPS and a Subaru WRX, respectively.

Their considered views

'Weird', 'Sluggish' and 'Cool' were the three adjectives most frequently used by our six reviewers, all of whom were 'Prius virgins'.

'Weird' applied to the way the Prius would roll away from a standing start noiselessly. The petrol engine was at operating temperature for most of the drivers, so it didn't even crank over until the car had left the car park. That 'weird' silence was something that all the drivers came to appreciate very quickly and the Prius won praise across the board for being so quiet, although one of the drivers observed that when the petrol engine was wound up to higher revs, in Power Mode, the car was really no quieter than most other cars selling in the same price range.

'Sluggish' was the word the drivers used to describe the acceleration of the Prius on battery power alone. Even though none of the drivers recanted that view, they did see the point of the EV mode and how it was an asset in stop/start driving. Power Mode was welcomed, although a couple of drivers observed that the petrol engine seemed to flail around trying to find the optimum revs -- a consequence of the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) redistributing load between the electric motors and the petrol engine.

In the main, 'Cool' was used variously, to describe the 'Touch Tracer' system, the instrument graphics and the car as a whole. One driver employed the word 'nerdy' for 'Touch Tracer' but we took that to be a -- possibly back-handed -- compliment.

Almost without exception, the reviewers observed that the nose of the Prius drops away abruptly and makes parking harder, since the forward corners of the car can't be seen. This was an interesting comment in our view, since it was mentioned by reviewers irrespective of how tall they were. One driver did declare that the forward field of vision in the Prius was very good, which is the silver lining to the short nose and cab-forward design.

The Prius drew criticism for the way it failed to shape up against the cars the six reviewers drive day to day. Not always a fair comparison since the Prius can't be all things to all people, but it's illuminating how the reviewers' purchasing criteria varied -- and where the Prius fell within that mix.

Although everyone remarked on the fuel efficiency of the Prius, only one reviewer felt that development for cars like the Prius should be encouraged to combat global climate change. A couple of other drivers were dubious that the Prius is an adequate response in the longer term. We've compiled these views for your further reading and will publish them in coming weeks.

All six of the reviewers believe the Prius is an expensive proposition. Paul Matthews felt that if the Prius were offered in a price range from around $30,000 to $32,000, it would be a consideration for his parents, but at even the entry-level model's price of $39,900 (price guide, not including on-road costs), the Prius is just out of reach.

But that then suggests Toyota may have raised prospective buyers' expectations of what a hybrid costs, leaving the way open for the company to introduce the larger Camry Hybrid next year, at a more appealing price of around $35,000...

You can read the comprehensive views of our testers in greater detail over the next few weeks.

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