In these days of raised gasoline prices (Well over $4.00 per gallon), finding a fuel efficient, comfortable family car has become a necessity. Of all the available 2011 hybrid vehicles, I find the Toyota Prius to be the obvious choice.
The basic premise of the Prius system is inherently different from Toyota’s perceived main competitor, the Honda Civic Hybrid. While the Honda is in its most basic sense an internal combustion vehicle with a battery-electric motor assist, the Prius is exactly the opposite; the Prius is an electric vehicle with an internal combustion assist. Having test driven both used and new models of each car; this difference is in essence what sold my family on the Prius versus the Civic. Let me explain why.
If your end goal is to save money, and by default to reduce your carbon footprint on climate change, reduced fuel usage is the desired result. Therefore, if your engine runs continuously on fossil fuel, occasionally being aided by an electric motor, you will burn a significant amount of gas. Conversely, the Prius utilizes a battery bank which powers a motor, applying radial torque to your drive shaft, and is occasionally aided by a gasoline engine (for ascending hills, for rapid acceleration, or for when the batteries are depleted).
The Prius extracts the normally wasted mechanical energy of braking and coasting down declines, and uses that to charge the Synergy Drive battery. This process is virtually unnoticeable, as the braking feels as it normally would in any car, and inexplicably, the Prius seems to coast even faster than my Ford Explorer, which weighs about a ton more. To further the Prius advantage, it has an EV or Electric Vehicle mode, to run the car solely off the batteries, perfect for use in stop and go traffic.
The price advantage is clear, and I can easily attest that we pay less in monthly car loan payments for the Prius than we did in gasoline for the Explorer. In fact, having owned the Prius for over two months, I believe that we have paid about $60.00 for gas, and still have several more weeks before our next fill-up. We average about 40 miles to the gallon, which is excellent considering we live in a very hilly place. I would not find it at all hard to believe people living in a flatter area getting closer to 50 miles to a gallon.
The Toyota Prius is an excellent example of what can be done with thoughtful engineering. There is room to spare, and it is capable of hauling a great deal of material in the trunk with the back seats pushed forward. Additionally, the resale value of the Prius actually exceeds the cost of a new vehicle, due to the high demand, and up to six month waiting list. I also imagine that on the horizon will come models which utilize solar panels on the roof to charge the batteries, further increasing the savings and environmental friendliness. This is a fine vehicle which should easily meet the needs of the average family of four, while saving them money.