Toyota Prius Hybrid

Sandy Myhre looks back on how far this electric-and-gas car has come.

When the inaugural Prius was launched in 1997 the ad campaign used the slogan 'in time for the 21st century', poking the borax a bit at Honda's Insight which was still a couple of years away from launch. Indeed the Prius etymology derives from the Latin meaning 'gone before'.

The synergistic electric-and-gas cars that have been called a part solution to the world's dwindling oil supplies require a little driving education. It's a kindergarten mistake to presume the silence that follows turning the thing on is a malfunction. It only gets going when you put your foot on the gas pedal and that, of course is the whole idea.

After 16 years hybrid technology hasn't changed much and it's still a wonderful example of cleverness in a gas-guzzling world. And the Prius name has such cachet - no doubt carefully cultivated by Toyota. Why else would we see 'leaked' photos of Hollywood stars like Cameron Diaz, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts hopping happily into the hybrid? And Gwyneth Paltrow but you'd expect that from someone who called their kid Apple.

The Prius line-up in New Zealand starts with the five-door hatch C model moves to the seven-seater V beloved by taxi drivers and on to the five-door hatch with electronic continuously variable transmission (ECVT) which DAF invented years ago and is another of those clever innovations.

Like most new car models the latest Prius has grown a bit higher and wider.

You don't expect sport performance of course but on the road the Prius behaves rather well. It's not a small car by any means but it handles competently, even around Northland's winding roads and because the passenger seats are positioned fairly high the kids aren't likely to suffer from car sickness.

The 'heads-up' display system on the dash is a significant safety feature, along with the seven airbags and numerous three letter acronyms that denote stability and braking competence. The touch-and-trace controls on the steering wheel can alter air conditioning and audio settings and are another safety element.

Who in Northland is buying the Prius? Northland Toyota say the most popular model is the Prius C, the entry level five-door hatch because it's well-priced and as a company car the carbon tax levy isn't as high as with other purely petrol-driven models.

What the Prius has never had is a glamorous exterior. The rear end view is decidedly plain but no-one's buying this particular book for its cover. There's a kind of smugness about driving a Prius, knowing you're using far less fuel than in most other cars of comparable size. Fuel economy like this, however, comes at a premium price.

At $61,000 the top of the line Prius hybrid is an example of the old maxim that only the well-heeled can afford economy and the question that could be asked is whether it wouldn't be better to buy an entry-level Lexus at roughly the same price? You won't have the same fuel savings of course but you will have excellent resale value and the replacement battery, should you need to, is better priced.