My hybrid-car smugness

It is a car, but not as you know it.

When I first sat behind the wheel of a petrol-electric hybrid Toyota Prius it felt like driving for the first time.

Everything felt slightly out of place and even starting the car - you slip a card into the dashboard and push a power button - required a lesson.

So there were a few nervous minutes at first as I tried to remember the instructions and navigate Wellington's narrow streets. After 10 minutes I was away.

While driving a Prius might not be as environmentally friendly as, say, riding a bike, when you whiz past people in big 4WDs you feel virtuous - exhaust emissions are about 90 per cent less than those from a petrol car of similar size.

The Prius is more akin to a Camry than a Corolla in size, and has a sleek aerodynamic design.

In the middle of the dashboard is a computer screen which displays the state of all the important things in the car, ie stereo and air conditioning.

Push a few buttons and the screen displays your exact petrol consumption.

I was told to keep my petrol consumption to about 5 litres per 100km.

Soon, checking the fuel consumption graph became a strangely addictive game.

For me the most startling feature of the Prius is the noise: there's hardly any. I found it such a novelty that I turned the radio off to make the most of it.

When stopping at traffic lights the motor completely cuts out and then effortlessly (and silently) starts again when you press your foot on the accelerator.

When moving slowly, for example in traffic jams, the car runs on the electric motor alone.

For this reason the Prius is particularly economical around town.

To give the car a different type of test I drove it from Wellington to Napier, thinking the Rimutaka hill would push its limits.

On the open road the Prius performs much like any other car its size.

It has plenty of oomph going up the hills and accelerating, but such manoeuvres cause the dreaded fuel consumption display to lurch alarmingly upwards.

Where the Prius comes into its own on the open road is going downhill: it stores energy from deceleration and downhill running, basically putting you in energy credit.

On my Wellington to Napier return trip I averaged 4.8 litres per 100km.

And that proves that my driving, if nothing else, is at least economical.