The world is in crisis, both economically and ecologically. While headlines today announce the arrival of the Generation 3 Toyota Prius, a car which Toyota says forms the stepping stone to the ultimate eco-car.
As an adjunct to this, Prius is also a showcase of modern technology, technology which Toyota anticipates introducing to its mainstream model line up in the not too distant future.
In the meantime, the company regarded as New Zealand’s most trusted automotive brand, brings two models of its hybrid hero car to the fold, the entry level Prius and the i-Tech Prius. This last is a vehicle so well endowed with technology, it should just about make its driver a cup of rain forest friendly, decaffeinated coffee.
The shape of the Prius MkIII is not so different from the MkII – trainspotters may recognise the dimensional changes brought about through shifting the highest roof point back, thereby increasing headroom for all occupants - with only 10 percent of the preceding car being carried over.
Why wouldn’t you carry parts over? Simply because the new Prius has so many improvements and enhancements on board, the original parts wouldn’t apply. When you have a halo car – as Toyota describes the Prius – you can’t afford to rest on your laurels.
The biggest contributing factor to the success of the Prius is the Hybrid Synergy Drive. This is a Toyota patented device which allows the hybrid Prius to switch between its electric motor and its internal combustion engine, which incidentally, has seen a displacement increase from 1.5 litres to 1.8 litres.
Hang on though, engine size increase? What for? The Prius is supposed to save fuel isn’t it? Yes, and it does. Using a larger displacement suppresses the engine speed during higher speed driving, which is when the electric motor are no longer the propulsion mode of choice.
ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, brake assist and traction control have of course, been retained on the generation 3 Prius, while hill-start assist control has been added, along with Toyota’s vehicle stability control plus.
An important consideration in the safety stakes, the VSC system is complemented by nine airbags (including a kneebag), active front headrests and active brake lights, which flash to indicate the Prius in front of you is doing some emergency braking, and anyone following should be alert to this.
In a similar safety vein, Prius now allows for Bluetooth integration along with an auxiliary audio input jack, a Smart key entry and ignition system, rain sensing windscreen wipers and the piece de resistance in my opinion, a true “numbers floating outside the car” heads up display.
This system – which can be turned off - projects information to a point roughly at the leading edge of the bonnet. It displays speed, the efficiency of the driver on a bar graph, whether the car is travelling under cruise control, offers turn by turn navigation guides and - on the i-Tech model, advises Pre-crash Safety system information.
Pre Crash Safety uses the cruise control radar and an array of sensor information to determine if an emergency situation is developing. If the system detects an imminent collision, it sounds a warning buzzer, hoping the driver will intervene and avoid the collision.
It simultaneously pre-arms the brakes so that when the brake pedal is applied, maximum braking pressure is achieved. Should the driver not react, the car’s system will intervene on his/her behalf while pre tensioning the seatbelts.
Prius also features a touch tracer system, which enhances the concept of steering wheel mounted buttons for various functions, but replaces bulky buttons with an iPod-similar scrolling mechanism and a mirror image on the dashboard display.
To all of the above, the i-Tech Prius adds satellite navigation, dynamic radar cruise control - which slows the Prius down if a car in front is not driving at the same speed - headlight cleaning system, reversing camera, seat heaters for the now leather seats and an electrochromic rear vision mirror.
In addition, the i-Tech Prius features intelligent park assist, the aforementioned Pre-Crash system, remotely controlled air conditioning, LED (high output, low draw) headlights and a solar powered ventilation system.
This last operates independently of the car’s electrical system. It is powered by a glass-protected array of solar panels on the roof and is designed to lower cabin temperature when the car is parked, thus relieving the air conditioning system of overwork when the car is underway. And the drive experience? Toyota’s engineers have not ignored this consideration while developing the technological advances found on Prius Generation 3. The car’s overall performance is more like a conventional car than ever before.
I will say I felt the regular Prius to be more drivable than the high tech i-Tech model.
So while early adopters may well appreciate the technology in the i-Tech Prius, I suspect the conventional Prius – capable of 3.9 litres per 100km while emitting a mere 89gms of CO2 every kilometre - will have more appeal to those considering their ecological responsibilities.
