rental car review: Toyota Prius (circa Sept '08)

Last year, while doting through parts of Switzerland and Germany (and a bit of Liechtenstein and an even tinier bit of Austria which seems counter intuitive), I had the chance to drive a Toyota Prius. It was dubbed Prius Power, which seemed to be an appropriate nickname to convey its surprising strength and obvious electric bonafides.

The current generation Prius is a distinctively mid-size sedan. Obviously, it possesses a distinct shape for both aerodynamic and packaging reasons. The entire rear end with the high trunk floor and subsequent hatchback design is all about getting the batteries to fit, maintaining very respectable storage space, and making sure other drivers know how smug you are about driving a hybrid.

I thought it was a blast to drive, what with the amusing graphics and battery meter and low-end torque (imagine that). With the meter and gauges there, it does indeed become a game to see how much regenerative braking you can do and what kind of total mpg you can achieve. On that front, my only real qualm is the programming that drives the car to attempt to maintain a charge around 70% much of the time (for longevity reasons). This made it very difficult to get the battery much below 50%, even on long uphill sections so when you're going back down the hill, the amount of regenerative braking that is limited because it wasn't possible to force-drain the battery. I believe it is an issue that is being addressed in the next generation which should come out later this year. Or is it early next year?

Interior materials were adequate, nothing flashy, classically and boringly competent. The two hatch glove box was sort of nifty though. I did not like that the radio controls were integrated into the monitor, which is something it looks like I'll have to get over one days since more and more vehicles are adding some sort of GPS/display system. The best manufacturers do seem to have figured out which physical buttons that they need to leave in place.

The Prius is the kind of car naysayers need to drive. It's not going to replace the heavy hauler or whatever a family needs to haul their cargo, trailer, gear, or members, but it's an enjoyable enough commuter vehicle.