Plenty of style with the Toyota Prius T Spirit. Picture by Peter Boam.
ROADTEST FACTFILE
Car...Toyota Prius
Model...T Spirit 1.8-litre
mpg (comb cycle)...70.6 mpg
CO2 emissions...92 g/km
Price...£21,230
Loaned by Wight Motors, Sandown
IF YOU want a car with a space-age look and economic on fuel, extr-emely comfortable and spacious and, importantly, green, you could do a lot, lot worse than drive one of the new Toyota Prius hybrids.
The automatic model I booked on test from Wight Motors, Sandown, last weekend — the top of the range T Spirit five-door — was an absolute joy to take out for a prolonged spin.
It's sometimes easy to forget Toyota has been at the hybrid game for quite a while — long enough to have gone some distance towards perfecting its trademark Synergy drive system, which aims to balance the driver’s needs with the ability to make best use of the electrical assistance of the petrol motor in a simple and refined way.
I found the transition back and forth between electric and petrol power was near seamless.
Toyota’s offering has the ability to save you fuel by running on electric power alone for short distances at urban speeds on its Eco mode.
But once out on the open road and switched to its conventional petrol mode, the Prius was a beautiful, smooth drive that was so quiet, I had to glance at the control panel to check if there was something wrong with it.
The clever thing about the Prius is that the eco battery charges up on the petrol drive, or by harnessing the energy released from braking, so there’s no fears of it dying on you in town traffic.
If you can get into the habit of switching from one drive mode to the other, the car should return some impressive economy figures.
The Prius is actually a good-sized family car that is easy to drive and park and the controls are light, yet accurate, too.
It certainly turned a lot of heads when I visited the packed Chale Show last weekend, with several people asking me questions about how it performed.
With the slight increase in size comes a larger petrol engine — with the 1.8-litres replacing the 1.5 — and I would say it has the power of any half-decent decent hatchback, accelerating to a respectable 62mph in 10.4 seconds and delivering a top speed of 110mph.
I’m not a technophobe but I do find some of the latest car gadgets mind-boggling sometimes.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by just how user-friendly all the Prius gadgets were, though it took a little while to discover the CD was hidden behind the sat-nav system.
Inputs for music players and a Bluetooth phone connection complete the picture.
The electronic displays that make up the car's instrument panel work really well. The speedo can be cleverly reflected onto the windscreen so you can check your speed at a glance, though it was a tad distracting to begin with.
The way energy is transferred from engine to battery pack is shown in a clear manner and the stubby gearshift requires the absolute minimum of effort to operate.
I did find the Prius can prove tricky to reverse park because of the sloping of the rear screen, but fortunately it has a parking sensor, with the sat-nav screen displaying a colour rear view to help you slot into a space.
The seats are really comfortable and supportive and the enlarged cabin allows grown-ups in the back to feel relaxed.
The Prius is also safe. It comes with a generous number of airbags — including a driver’s knee airbag — plus a full compliment of electronic safety aids.
I will have to take Toyota’s word that this model delivers greater advances in economy and emissions but I can at least be certain in agreement that it is more practical than its predecessor, thanks to a larger cabin and boot.
All in all, the Prius gets a big thumbs up from me.