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Greener Motoring - Must It Mean Slow, Boring Cars?

It’s not so hard to be Green! – Patrick Hay is surprised by the impressive Toyota Prius Hybrid

Choosing a ‘greener’ car often seems to involve making an unacceptable personal sacrifice for the sake of the planet.  Many of the ‘eco’ labelled models on offer look like hastily cobbled-up versions of the manufacturer’s standard model, but, with de-tuned engines, higher top gear ratios, special wheels and tyres for low rolling resistance, fewer power consuming gadgets, and weight saving compromises, the end result is a disappointing drive. These cars are dull compared with the equivalent non-eco models.  Their handling and ride is compromised by changes to the running gear, the tall gearing means you use the gearbox a lot if you’re loaded up with passengers or luggage, and the engines can sound laboured just going up gentle inclines or even driving into the wind on motorways.

You could go all-electric with an electric Smart or a G-wizz, but they are small, they have to be plugged in and charged for several hours every 40-60 miles, and there are concerns about battery life and replacement costs.   

Then there’s the Toyota Prius.  Other hybrids appear to be no more than ordinary cars adapted for congestion charge exemption, with electric motors and bulky battery packs, but the Prius was designed as a hybrid from the outset.  Ten years ago it looked strange and technically very adventurous, attracting only ecologically committed buyers.  Now, however, with a long history of reliability behind it, nearly a million examples sold worldwide and fuel prices at nightmare levels, the Prius enters the reckoning of anyone looking for a medium size family car.

So, when the time came to think about a replacement for our old and thirsty VW Golf, we decided to add the Prius to our short list, along with a Mercedes ‘A’ class and, of course, a new Golf.  The Mercedes was quickly eliminated after a test drive, leaving the Golf and the Prius to fight it out.  The Prius puts up a surprisingly strong case against the more conventional car.

First impressions, as you sit behind the Toyota’s leather-clad wheel, are that it is a light and roomy car with lots of handy storage.  In front, there are two generous lockers on the passenger side and a central armrest conceals more useful spaces for essential bits and pieces. Rear seat passengers are treated to airliner-style pouches on the back of the front seats for their maps or magazines, and a central armrest.  All four doors have storage bins, the boot is reasonably large, easily accessed through the tailgate, and has a retractable cover to hide its contents.  As usual in this family hatchback class, there are 60:40 folding rear seats to provide a flexible and capacious load carrying space.

The comfortable seats are covered with alcantara synthetic suede.  Plenty of elbow and legroom is offered back and front, although tall rear seat passengers might find the sloping rear roof line compromises their ability to wear a hat - so not perhaps the perfect wedding car.

2010 model Toyota Prius - not a boring car

Light, roomy and practical inside

Decent load carrying capacity although the sloping roofline steals volume

The Toyota hybrid drive system integrates a relatively small petrol engine with a powerful electric motor and continuously variable automatic transmission.  A computer processor engages either or both of the power plants as required, and switches seamlessly and imperceptibly from one to the other.  The battery is recharged either by the engine when the electric motor is not in use, or by recuperation of waste energy when braking or decelerating, so that much of the electrical energy is entirely free and there is never a need to plug in to recharge.    

On the move the car is remarkably refined.  Normally you start off under electrical power only, but when the engine cuts in it does so almost imperceptibly and noise levels at town and country road speeds are so low that sometimes you can only tell the engine is running by reference to a superb graphic display on a screen in the centre of the dashboard.  The ride, too, is unusually smooth, and road and tyre rumble is muted.  Steering is sharp and well weighted.  The digital instruments are exceptionally clear and on some models speed and essential information is projected to a head-up display on the windscreen like a fighter pilot’s.  Performance is pretty much the same as most of the car’s conventional competitors, lively at times, although not sporty.  Most drivers will prefer to develop their skill at achieving maximum mpg, encouraged by another excellent graphic display on the trip computer screen.  Consumption should be around 60 – 70 mpg both in and out of town.

The Prius is guaranteed for 3 years but all its Hybrid drive components, electric motor, battery and electronic control unit, are guaranteed for an impressive 8 years.  Since the Prius has come top, or close to the top of the J D Power customer satisfaction survey for several years, there seems good reason to believe that it is reliable and well built.

So, if you’re choosing a car in this class, there need be no penalty for going greener.  This is not a cheap car, but then neither are its less economical conventional competitors, particularly when they are loaded up with options to match the generous equipment levels of the Toyota.  Right now however, in France, this car has one outstanding advantage over the competition – you get a €2000 eco-bonus from the state when you buy one.  This makes it more than competitive in price terms so that, even if you would prefer a conventional German, French, Italian, or even Japanese car, you’ll still have to work hard to find convincing reasons not to buy the engaging and far more technically interesting Prius.

“Right now,...... in France, this car has one outstanding advantage over the competition – you get a €2000 eco-bonus from the state when you buy one.”

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