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Toyota's Hybrid Prius Masterful Technology, Great Package |
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Makes Everything Else Look Like A Model T Ford Performance, Space Means You Can Be Green Without Compromise Will fuel economy claims be more reliable than Prius I? Rating - ***** out of 5 Florence, Italy – You just can’t get away from the fact that Toyota’s “hybrid” project is a fantastic engineering achievement. The original Prius was a worthy, dumpy looking little underachiever. Sure, with its petrol and electric engines, it was fairly miserly with fuel and slashed nasty emissions. But it just didn’t have any charisma at all. It had no poke, not much room and little carrying capacity. It wasn’t even all that economical. The mark II Prius not only looks the business, its performance has also improved markedly. It has plenty of room for 5 and their luggage. It will no longer just be the favourite means of transportation for sandelista tree-huggers who hate cars. The Prius is dripping with technology for eager drivers. Apart from all the latest driving aids like ABS brakes, electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist, electronic traction control and vehicle stability control, this machine has two engines – hence the designation “hybrid”. Relatively Small Engine This allows manufacturers to use relatively small engines to power big cars, but then use an electric motor to make up the difference when needed. Powerful computers decide when and how the electric motor is used. When the car needs relatively little power, perhaps cruising at the motorway limit, but coasting down a light gradient, the car generates electricity for the battery, which then powers the electric motor for more strenuous work later. “The Toyota Prius is not intended to be an eco-car that sacrifices driving pleasure, comfort and space as a trade-off for low emissions. Instead, it goes a lot further by bringing the future of motoring into the present. The latest Prius is the cleanest car currently available to the motoring public and successfully demonstrates that being “green” does not equate to dull performance or compromised packaging,” says Toyota. The Prius is the result of the world’s car manufacturers racing to produce cars, which are environmentally friendly and more efficient. Japanese Say “Hybrid” The Japanese believe the answer is “hybrid”. European manufacturers believe that diesel power will win and are sinking huge resources into modernising these so called “oil burners”. The Japanese, led by Toyota, and Honda with its Civic IMA (Integrated Motor Assist), believe hybrids will win out over diesels in the long run. Both Japanese companies have reluctantly and belatedly introduced oil burners for diesel-hungry Europeans, where almost every other new car is now a diesel. But the entire industry realises that both these technologies are mere interim solutions before fuel cell power takes over, probably by around 2020. |
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Avoids Diesel’s Noxious Emissions Hybrid engines cut fuel use and therefore CO2, and avoid diesel’s noxious emissions. Some systems – so-called strong hybrids - allow the electric motor to power the vehicle for short distances in town centres to eliminate pollution. Other systems – like the Honda IMA’s mild hybrid – just allow the electric motor to help the petrol engine and can’t operate under separate electric power. An added bonus for both systems is power provided by capturing energy used under braking – known as regenerative braking – and channelling this to the battery. Toyota has just launched its new Prius (it means “ahead of its time” in Latin) here in Florence. Toyota says that the Prius engine uses what it calls a revolutionary concept, the Hybrid Synergy Drive. Current generation hybrids rely on the petrol engine to produce peak performance, with the electric motor as an ancillary. The new system gives the electric motor a more significant role and allows for a stronger performance from the 1.5 litre engine. Will Economy Claims Stand Up? The new Prius is livelier, with acceleration from rest to 100 kph/0-62 mph at 10.9 seconds compared with the old one’s 13.5 seconds. Fuel consumption is claimed to be 65.7 miles per gallon-3.6 litres/100 kms, up from 57.6 mpg-4.1 litres/100 kms on the old one, although my experience showed that this economy claim was unreliable. I only managed to achieve 38.1 mpg, a shocking underperformance of 33.9 per cent. I await a chance to test Toyota’s claims for the new Prius’s economy. CO2 emissions are a mere 104 g/kms, compared with the previous model’s 114. This means that the big, 5-seater Prius emits about the same amount of C02 as a little Renault Clio supermini diesel. The Prius was impressive in the hills and highways around Florence. The engine gets a bit noisy under firm acceleration and the automatic gearbox makes strange noises as the computer struggles to match the engine revs with the speed. Toyota calls this automatic gearbox an electronically controlled variable transmission, and says it works like a continuously variable transmission. T Spirit The T Spirit version, which I drove, includes as standard equipment a Bluetooth telephone system. All versions have electronic air conditioning, electronically controlled variable automatic transmission, LED stop lights, and drive-by-wire controls which use electronic linkages, not conventional wiring. You can push the EV button and switch to pure electric power, but this only lasts for just over a mile with a maximum of 30 mph. The 1.5 litre petrol engine uses the Atkinson cycle instead of the conventional Otto cycle. This system is more efficient than standard petrol motors. Complicated To Start The engine switches itself off when the car stops in traffic. As soon as you press on the accelerator, the engine noiselessly starts. Starting the engine from cold though is a little complicated and will baffle first-time users. You have a so-called “smart” ignition key so you don’t have to put it in the dashboard; the computer will detect that the driver has a key. You then have to push the power button, and press the brake pedal simultaneously. When the dashboard, which features a virtual image display for the vital information like speed, tells you the hybrid system is running, you put the electronic shift lever into “D” for drive and press the parking brake. Then you are on your way. Shouting Didn’t Help The T Spirit has standard satellite navigation, which can apparently be commanded by your voice. The system fell apart when confronted with the narrow streets and complicated one-way system in downtown Florence. I can tell you that no amount of shouting at the system had any effect. Eventually, Toyota had to come and find me and lead me to the hotel. Honda is the only other producer of hybrid cars. The Honda Insight, launched in 1999, has been discontinued. But in 2004, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler will be introducing hybrid power plants in their Chevrolet and Dodge pickup trucks in the U.S. Ford will offer the Escape, a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a hybrid. Toyota, which has licensed its hybrid system to Ford and Nissan, will also sell its RX300 SUV with a hybrid in 2004. Diesels Versus Hybrids Meanwhile the arguments about diesel versus hybrid will continue. The Japanese believe that hybrids will eventually win because although diesels can lower CO2 levels and offer excellent performance, they will be unable to meet future government regulations on nitrogen oxide (NOX) emission rules. Diesels also produce soot, but this can now be eliminated by particulate filters. European companies like Volkswagen and Peugeot have declared the hybrid route a blind alley and are banking on diesels. U.S. Crucial Battleground But the crucial battle ground will be in the U.S., the world’s biggest market, where diesel powered cars are almost non-existent, and where tough emission regulations make it unlikely that oil-burning cars will be accepted. The new Prius is on sale now in Japan, and will be available in Europe and the U.S. in 2004. Neil Winton, November 28, 2003
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