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Full Test: 2001 Toyota Prius
Karl Marx, Your Hybrid has Arrived
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By Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
Date posted: 12-12-2000
Last
night I did some exhaustive research. According
to my findings (obtained by renting "Sleeper"
and "Blade Runner" from Blockbuster), the cars
of the future will either be flying cars or these
white, sanitized globular-looking people pods
with as much appeal as a bowl of tapioca. Funny,
after driving the 2001 Toyota Prius, I thought
it was the car of the future.
Automakers have been looking for ways to meet
increasingly stringent demands for cleaner tailpipe
emissions. In the '90s, electric cars like GM's
EV1 were thought to be the answer, but they are
limited by poor range and the fact that they have
to be "plugged in" in order to be recharged. Hydrogen-fueled
fuel cell cars will some day be the ultimate evolution
of the automobile, as their exhaust byproduct
is essentially water vapor. But the technology
for fuel cell cars is still young, and mass-produced
fuel cell cars are years away.
For today and the near future, the best hope is
hybrid vehicles. The Prius is a hybrid-electric
vehicle, only the second such mass-produced car
to be available in America (Honda's Insight was
the first). Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine
with an electric motor. Since hybrids are still
fueled by gasoline, they don't have to be plugged
in or recharged. In the case of the Prius and
Insight, the result of hybrid technology is reduced
emissions and improved fuel efficiency when compared
to a normal gasoline-powered car. The only fear
has been that a hybrid vehicle would never be
useful as a real car that real people would want
to buy. With the Prius, Toyota has largely quieted
those fears. Hybrids, we think, are here to stay.
While the Prius is new to the American consumer
for 2001, Toyota has been selling them in Japan
since December 1997. Since that time, the company
has been tinkering with the car and making changes
that would better suit the higher sustained speeds,
longer driving distances, more stringent emission
requirements, and harsher climates found in the
United States. Compared to earlier Prius models,
U.S. versions feature more horsepower, additional
emissions equipment and a more powerful battery
pack that is also smaller and lighter.
It might have more power, but the U.S. Prius is
still a few fries short of an automotive Happy
Meal. Its aluminum, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine
makes 70 horsepower at 4,500 rpm and 82 foot-pounds
of torque at 4,200 rpm. The electric drive motor
is worth another 44 peak horsepower, bringing
the maximum potential horsepower output to 114.
At the test track, our car accelerated from zero
to 60 mph in 12.8 seconds and cleared the quarter-mile
in 19.3 seconds at 75.3 mph. Your average V6 family
sedan with an automatic transmission (like a Toyota
Camry) will do zero to 60 in about 8 seconds,
and a four-cylinder economy sedan's time is around
10 seconds.
OK, so it's slow. But if all you are interested
in is drag racing, big smoky burnouts and collecting
John Force T-shirts, you've come to the wrong
road test. Go buy a Camaro if that's you. What
makes the Prius unique is that it is able to provide
tolerable acceleration while also offering
exceptional fuel mileage, squeaky-clean emissions,
seating for five passengers and a good list of
standard features. The EPA rates the Prius at
52 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway,
theoretically allowing over 600 miles between
fill-ups. We officially observed a combined average
of 41 mpg out of our test car, with one of our
editors reporting that he was able to get higher
amounts (around 47 mpg) during his driving stints.
To learn about the Prius' unique technologies
and components, we encourage you to read our Hybrid
Highlights section.
The Prius is available only as a four-door sedan
with one trim level. With this, you get plenty
of standard equipment, such as automatic climate
control, air conditioning, power windows and locks,
power steering, antilock brakes, keyless entry,
and dual front airbags. The only options of note
are floor mats, a single CD player, and an in-dash
six-disc CD changer. Though there is a button
on the dash labeled "map," GPS navigation is currently
not available in the American market. Cruise control
is another MIA feature. You can't even get it
as a dealer-installed accessory. We do know it
exists, though, as Prius models sold in Canada
can be had with cruise control. We're not sure
what Toyota bean counter made this decision, but
if there was ever a country whose wide-open geography
and Lay-Z-Boy attitude demanded cruise control,
America is it.
Visually, the Prius (which is Latin for "to go
before") looks a little like Toyota's Echo Sedan.
They both have a pug-faced snout, a high roofline
and short front and rear overhangs. Nobody on
our staff thought it was particularly attractive,
but it's certainly not ugly, either. In terms
of overall size, the Prius is closest to the Corolla,
though it's taller and shorter. It has a 169.6-inch
overall length and a 100-inch wheelbase compared
to the Corolla's 174.0-inch length and 97-inch
wheelbase. Despite being shorter, the Prius has
a slight edge in interior passenger volume compared
to the Corolla, and it has more rear legroom,
too. Accommodations are surprisingly good for
a small car, with upright seating positions and
good outward visibility. Two adults will fit in
the backseat without too much complaint, and the
trunk holds 11.8 cubic feet of cargo, a capacity
that is similar to cars like the Honda Civic and
Nissan Sentra.
The rest of the car, however, isn't very similar
to a Sentra, or any other car, for that matter.
The bridge on the Starship Enterprise is a better
match. Hop into the driver's seat, and you'll
be greeted by a blank stare from the dash. Similar
to the Echo's interior design, there is no gauge
cluster in the typical sense. Instead, there is
a centrally located digital display that informs
drivers of speed, gear selection, fuel status
and trip distance. Below it is a symmetrical,
T-shaped instrument panel housing a touch-screen
LCD monitor and climate and audio controls. Between
the instrument panel and the steering wheel, a
transmission gearshift lever sprouts out of the
dash like a cancerous growth.
The Prius' interior certainly seems like an attractive
and futuristic package when you are just sitting
and observing. Material quality is decent, and
Toyota has given the Prius plenty of its own unique
switchgear. There are problems, though. Public
offender number one is the location of the gearshift
lever. Yes, it frees up space from the center
console and floor, but when the lever is placed
in drive, it hinders access to the volume knob
and radio scan button. This means that every time
the driver wants to adjust the stereo's volume
or change a radio station, she has to first skirt
her hand around the lever. This takes concentration
to do, and that means reduced driver safety. The
same goes for the radio presets, which can be
accessed only via the LCD display. Since they
are touch-screen operated and have no tactile
feel, the driver must take her eyes from the road
and look at the screen in order to pick a preset.
Other minor quibbles are mediocre interior storage,
no driver armrest, and the long time required
to get used to the central location of the digital
gauge cluster.
Twist the key and the engine thrums to life after
a brief delay. The digital display informs the
driver that the car is "ready," which we suppose
is the Prius' version of a thumbs-up. The LCD
monitor, meanwhile, has a virtual button for either
"energy" or "consumption." Stab "energy" with
your index finger, and the screen displays a pictogram
showing power flow between the engine, wheels,
electric motor and battery. The "consumption"
bar chart, though initially confusing, is useful
as it shows a scrolling fuel mileage status report
that is updated in 5-minute increments. Neither
display does much with the car just sitting, though,
so it's time to drive somewhere.
Move the shifter lever into the drive position,
and the Prius shoves off. How it does this, however,
is perhaps the most intriguing method of propulsion
you'll find in a car today. At low speeds and
light throttle applications, the Prius relies
completely on the electric motor for acceleration.
This means that when the car is accelerating gently
from a stop, driving around a parking lot, creeping
through a McDonald's drive-thru, or even cruising
at 35 mph down a city street, it might be doing
it with 100 percent electrical power. The engine,
meanwhile, is completely inert.
The obvious benefit to this is that if the engine
isn't running, it isn't using any fuel. This attribute
is a big contributor to the Prius' city EPA rating
of 52 mpg. The other payoff, though, is that it
is quiet. The electric motor makes virtually
no noise, and the effect is a little disconcerting
at first unless you've driven the EV1. Think of
the Prius as an equal opportunity user. It is
constantly monitoring speed, throttle position
and battery power to determine what method of
power will be the most efficient. It could be
just the electric motor or a combination of both.
It's a very fluid process and does not impede
driving style at all. Bring up the energy chart
on the LCD, and the Prius will happily tell you
exactly what it is doing in terms of resource
management. The engine is responsible for recharging
the hybrid battery, and the Prius is also capable
of recapturing some energy when it is coasting
or braking. We found that heavy and constant use
of the throttle will deplete the battery, however,
so it's best to be a little conservative with
your right foot.
In all other respects, the Prius pretty much drives
like a regular car. Since it has a continuously
variable transmission, there are no actual gears
to select. The choices are simply park, reverse,
neutral, drive or brake. The brake function is
there because CVT transmissions don't have the
characteristic of engine braking that regular
manual or automatic transmissions do. When placed
in this mode, the Prius will gently apply the
brakes to make it seem like the car is engine
braking. This only happens when the driver lets
off the throttle.
Toyota's hybrid is perfectly suited for urban
driving and commuting. The compact exterior dimensions
and short turning radius make it easy to park,
and the ride quality is fairly compliant. In fact,
the more congested the driving environment is,
the more the Prius makes sense. While stuck in
a particularly nasty traffic jam during our evaluation
period, we couldn't help but feel superior to
all the other drivers on the freeway. With traffic
at a near standstill, the Prius' relied solely
on its electric motor to provide all the power
necessary for the stop-and-go nature of the traffic
jam. You almost feel like an environmental champion
driving this car when you realize that its super-ultra-low-emission
vehicle (SULEV) status means that it is 90 percent
cleaner than LEV vehicles for smog-forming exhaust
gases.
On the highway, the Prius still does an acceptable
job. Wind and engine roar are minimal, though
the low rolling resistance tires make lots of
noise and like to follow grooves in the pavement.
Driving at higher speeds, the electric motor can't
provide as much thrust, so care must be taken
to plan out passing maneuvers. There is little
point in trying to drive the Prius like a sports
car, as its soft suspension and light steering
make for unpleasant cornering. The CVT, while
fine around town, gets easily befuddled when driving
up hills, and constantly searches for an engine
rpm that it is happy with. Another problem is
the feel of the brakes, as they can be hard to
modulate. To their credit, though, our test car
stopped from 60 mph to zero in 135 feet, a number
that is equal to or a little better than most
economy sedans.
What makes the Prius so impressive is that it
drives, for the most part, just like a regular
economy sedan. It is true that acceleration is
pokey, especially when four adults and some gear
in the trunk are along for the ride. There could
also be long-term reliability issues (as there
would be with any car with such new technologies),
though Toyota preempts any worries with an eight-year/100,000-mile
battery and hybrid warranty, as well as complimentary
roadside assistance and three-year basic maintenance
programs.
Our take on this "car of the future" is that it
gives up very little, especially considering the
payoffs of over 40 mpg and SULEV emissions. Even
the price is impressive, with a 2001 MSRP of $19,995.
Toyota says that it will break even for every
Prius that it sells, though that statement probably
does not take into account the company's research
and development money spent on the car. But who
cares? The only other hybrid on the market is
Honda's Insight. The Insight delivers better fuel
mileage, but it is much more specialized. The
Prius is a hybrid that is actually useable. It's
a hybrid for the masses.
See all the Ratings: 2001 Toyota Prius 4dr Sedan (1.5L 4cyl Gas/Elec Hybrid CVT) Road Test Scoreboard
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