2004 TOYOTA PRIUS

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Nov 29, 2003 by Ann M. Job Capital-Journal

Fuel economy, performance, styling and roominess are all improved in the world's best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius.

Best of all, the new-generation, 2004 Prius --- which went on sale in the United States this fall and is rated at an impressive 60 miles a gallon in city driving and 51 mpg on the highway --- is priced the same as its predecessor, the 2003 Prius. Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, remains at $20,510.

The new Prius is just $370 more than the 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid, which is a smaller four-door, gas-electric car.

Also, the Prius, which comes standard with many features including air conditioning, traction control and antilock brakes, is priced $230 less than a 2003 Honda Insight with air conditioning. The Insight, a small, two-seat gas-electric car, is priced at $20,740. (Prices for the 2004 Honda Insight have not yet been released.)

Fuel economy and lower emissions are a big lure for buyers of these gas-electric hybrids.

The Prius gets the most out of each gas tank by using a combination of power that comes from a small, internal combustion, gasoline engine and a permanent magnet, electric motor.

There is no plugging in the electric motor here. The motor draws power from an onboard, powertrain battery pack that captures, stores and releases electrical energy as the vehicle travels.

A tricky part for engineers is to make the engine and motor power sources work together smoothly and seamlessly, which was accomplished in the new Prius test car. It drove and felt just like a regular all- gasoline-powered vehicle.

For example, I merged into city traffic without a hiccup, and I got up to speed with other cars on the highway without fuss.

The 76-horsepower, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing has the usual, four-cylinder buzzy sounds when pressed hard, and the Prius still is oh-so-quiet when only the electric motor is operating, such as when the car is backing up.

But overall, the driving sensation, itself, doesn't hint at a mix- and-match powertrain system.

In fact, the new Prius feels much zippier than its predecessor in pedal-to-the-metal startups, and Toyota officials say acceleration is 15 percent better than in the previous Prius.

Helping this performance is its 50-kilowatt electric motor. Its torque is 295 foot-pounds from standstill all the way to 1,200 rpm, better than the old 33-kilowatt's 258 foot-pounds from standstill to 400 rpm.

Note that in gas-electric hybrids, much of the torque is provided by electric motors, whose key benefit is torque generation from zero rpm.

The Prius nickel-metal hydride battery is upgraded, too, to a 500- volt maximum, up from 273.6 volts. Toyota officials also said they bench-tested this battery pack to 150,000 miles without degradation and added there is an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the powertrain battery on top of the comprehensive car warranty of three years/36,000 miles.

Buyers of the Prius have had a median age of 53, with median annual household income of $87,000, the automaker said. Eighty-two percent have a college education, and 67 percent are married.

U.S. sales for the new Prius are expected to be 36,000 for the first year.

The tally, in over 20 countries, so far for Prius sales is more than 110,000. The first-generation Prius has been sold in the United States since 2000, while in Japan sales began in 1999.

2004 TOYOTA PRIUS

BASE PRICE: $19,995.

AS TESTED: $23,199.

TYPE: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger, mid-size hatchback.

ENGINE: 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine with VVT-i mated to a 50- kilowatt, permanent magnet, electric drive motor.

MILEAGE: 60 mpg (city), 51 mpg (highway). Toyota engineers designed the gas-electric hybrid system to maximize city travel, rather than highway travel,

TOP SPEED: NA.

LENGTH: 175 inches.

WHEELBASE: 106.3 inches.

CURB WT.: 2,890 pounds.

BUILT AT: Japan.

DESTINATION CHARGE: $515.