Hybrid vehicles might be the wave of the future--but the first wave of Honda Insights and Toyota Priuses proved that even Japanese car companies don't get it all right the first time. Back in the 20th century their fuel-economy figures looked like alien matter compared even with regular Civics and Focuses. Unlike those sport compacts, the similar-sized hybrids were mostly kludgy and not enough like real cars. Somehow they became Hollywood celebs, and well, when Cameron Diaz buys one, that's all the endorsement we need. (In this sense, "endorsement" should read "please sleep with us.")
Toyota's 2004 Prius changes that rep a little. You won't rush out to slap bigger brakes or Enkei wheels on it, but the Prius now feels like an ordinary car, for the most part. It looks less conventional, though, with a five-door body that will now swallow four adults whole (five if they're small and don't bring their Golden Globes along for the ride).
The Prius works like other hybrids, pairing a gas engine with a battery pack to reduce fuel consumption, hydrocarbon emissions and wilting stares from driving an Excursion. In Toyota's case, its new "Hybrid Synergy Drive" system teams a 50-kilowatt electric motor with a 1.5-liter DOHC gas-fueled four with 76 horsepower. Both are up substantially from the last Prius. A new continuously variable transmission transmits the power in a seamless way, and the Prius stores energy from braking back into its batteries.
Performance is all in how you measure it. Toyota claims the nickel metal hydride/gas duo produces 60 mpg city, 50 highway and will hit 60 mph in about ten seconds. In the 80-mph real world--as real as southern Alabama can get--the Prius clocked about 47 mpg, not surprising since every hybrid gets less than the EPA predicts. Top speed? Let's just say it has one.
Getting it up to those speeds isn't the chore that a teensy four-cylinder engine makes you believe. You hop into the Prius, faced only by a steering wheel sodden with controls for the radio and aircon. The speedo and fuel gauge are on a strip atop the dash, and a stubby "shifter" sits beneath a "power" button. Stick the rectangular key fob in its slot-- or if you have the smart-key option, leave it in your pocket, step on the brake and press the power button, and the Prius is ready to rock. It's stone-cold quiet at that point, before the gas engine kicks in and it's working straight off the batteries. Flick the stub (it's not really a shifter, since the Prius uses electronic links for the gearbox and throttle) and you whir away like a cart on Disney's Space Mountain. The gas engine adds a faint groan to the Prius' cabin when it kicks in, and you can even watch which systems are working and when through the Prius' center-stack display.
Driving isn't so much a joy in the Prius as it is an efficient way to move around. No longer slow, the Prius isn't particularly exciting to drive unless you're a fuel-economy geek--which likely you are if you plunk down the $19,995 for one. You're sure to impress the rest of the green glitterati with your choice, but until you figure out how to boost the battery pack or slip a nitrous bottle on the A-pillar, leave the tuning to the rocket scientists, okay?