After reading much about the new green vehicles on the road today and how the EPA is considering changes to current regulations emphasizing a 10% production of electric-only vehicles by 2003, I went out to check out the vehicles currently available for sale today that fit the "green" description.

My first drive was on the Toyota Prius (gas & electric). Unlike the plain Honda Insight and Saturn EV1 (all-electric), this car is pretty cute. The dashboard is divided in two sections: the most important information (speed, gear, and onboard trip computer) are located deep in front and center of the cabin, while all buttons lie closer in to the driver, in a round position -- much like the Honda Civic.

Similar to luxurious cars with a satellite navigation system, the Prius has a big display on the center of the car; but that's where all similarities end. The display shows the inner-workings of the electric and gas engines and how they are behaving at that exact moment. While driving the car, I found myself often staring at the screen and not the road -- since I was so curious to where the power was coming from. This may be good for bored passengers...

Comfort

The Prius is reasonably comfortable for a car bearing so much weight (2,765 lbs). The wheelbase is long at 100.4 inches and the seats are very wide. Rear seats are also comfortable, but the center seat would probably be tight with three adults. For a car that the local dealership is adding $2,000 onto the $20 thousand MSRP, I think the material of the seats were a bit cheap, and probably wouldn't last very long with heavy use. Having a long wheelbase also helps maintain the car stable on tight turns.

Performance

The Prius carries a 1.5L 4-cylinder gas engine annexed to an electric engine. Unlike the EV1, there was no need to recharge the batteries, having the brakes do so every time you use them. Nevertheless, there is a B gear where the driver may have to use should the battery run down too much. What this does is that it maintains the brakes 'on' while driving -- so it's always recharging the battery. The bad thing on this is that it also runs down the brakes more quickly.

The gas engine puts out 70 hp (82 lb/ft) while the electric generates 44 hp (258 lb/ft). Something I really liked about this car is that it completely shut down the engine every time I stopped. It was eearly (sp?) quiet in the cabin, but the consequence is obvious: acceleration from zero is not great. Having only one gear also doesn't help. Getting on the freeway in San Luis Obispo, CA (highway 101) was slow compared to my 115 hp VW Jetta, and I wouldn't try passing anyone on a two-lane road without lots of room, either. Trying to reach 65 from 50 mph, I felt and heard the gas engine try very hard to make it, giving me gaps of lack of power in response.

Design and Conclusion

The Prius was made much like the Echo and should attract a young crowd. Some buttons bear a chrome face and the pointy look of the vehicle looks a bit sporty. Keep in mind, though, that this car is no sports car. It was meant for the long and short trip commuter with fuel consumption and cost of ownership in mind. The rear baggage area is tight due to the batteries' size, so long trips would not be any good for more than two people in this car.

A few things that caught my attention were the very tight turning circle (30.8ft), the quiet cabin while on the freeway (while maintaining a certain speed), and the impressive response from the A/C (though a bit noisy).

With an estimated EPA mpg of 52 city, and 45 freeway (sounds backward, but I'll stick to my sources), I think this car would be very convenient to a commuter. Also, unlike the EV1 and Insight, this car has 4 doors and would be perfect for a college or high school student. Plus, since it can't go very fast, parents wouldn't have to worry so much about their children speeding!

Note that most dealerships have a waiting list of 30-40 cars, so it should take a while until you can buy one (I'd wait until they stop charging more than the MSRP). And finally, this car has been in the Japanese market for three years and over 35,000 units have been sold there so far. This is important because there's a history of good reliability on this car, while the Insight is brand new.

Please remember to buckle up!

Technical sources:

- Toyota (www.toyota.com)
- Sunset Toyota in San Luis Obispo, CA
- The San Diego Union Tribune (www.uniontrib.com)