SINGAPORE, Nov 21 — Hybrids have always been seen as a futuristic/alternative choice, especially in Southeast Asia where cost is king when it comes to personal transport.
But the fact of the matter is that petrol-electric cars are now mature technology. The idea of mixing petrol engines with electric power came as early as 1901 (the Lohner Porsche hybrid), but the Toyota Prius was the first production hybrid to go on sale (1997) and still remains the world’s best-selling hybrid car.
Toyota is the biggest maker of cars, and hybrids too — as of July this year, it’s sold more than 8 million of them globally. The car you see here is the new, fourth-generation Prius.
Unsurprisingly, every new version of the Prius has gotten more frugal with fuel as a result of huge amounts of research and development by Toyota’s engineers. This one has a totally new engine and hybrid system (including battery, motor and control electronics) and will consume as little as 3.5L/100km (figures will be confirmed when the car launches here early next year). Compare that to the first Prius that posted 5.6L/100km.
Changing perceptions
Historically, the Prius has always been seen as more of an appliance for maximising fuel economy than an emotional automobile. Arguably, the biggest image problem the car has is that it’s primarily for greenies who value efficiency and flag-waving over everything else.
Now that diesel is facing headwinds and hybrids are accepted tech, especially in developed markets, Toyota’s made efforts to increase the excitement level of the Prius.
A race track like Fuji Speedway isn’t the best place to test a hybrid, but the new Prius fares surprisingly well. It accelerates cleanly off the line with none of the inertia the previous car had, something Toyota has engineered out on purpose.
The new car is also lower and carries its major components closer to the ground, which translates to markedly improved handling. While the Prius hasn’t been transformed into a magical corner-carving, apex-seeking hot rod, it has a directness and nimbleness that were entirely absent before.
Even the brakes — which typically feel vague and unnatural on hybrid cars —feel “normal” on the new Prius.
And that’s an important detail because it sums up the nature of the new Prius. Now, it’s a car that drives in a pleasing, conventional manner. From behind the wheel, it’s almost as if it just happens to be a very efficient hybrid.
New platform
More significant is the fact that the car is the first made by Toyota with a new platform architecture, called TNGA (Toyota New Generation Architecture). It’s the company’s take on modular platform technology (pioneered by Volkswagen), which uses a single basic architecture as the template for a number of different models.
Like most other modular platform tech, it uses more high-strength steel and advanced joining techniques to create a car body that’s stronger and lighter than before.
Chief Engineer of the Prius, Kouji Toyoshima, said: “This philosophy of TNGA is an overarching concept of coming up with ever better cars. We tried to figure out what we need to do to make ever better cars. TNGA is the solution and the base of production.”
Like its famous kaizen (continuous improvement involving the whole company) approach, Toyota says TNGA is a philosophy just as much as a technology and extends to the production process as well as the end-result of creating “ever better cars” that are more fun to drive. For now, the Prius still packs a 1.8-litre engine and serious tech, so for Singapore and other places in South-east Asia, it might still remain the exception rather than the rule.
Every person can afford to do more to save the earth, a Prius makes that job easier if you have the cash to spend. But given the new tech that underpins it, hopefully it also means that Toyota’s next hybrids will be fun-to-drive, green machines that will be able to bring hybrid tech to a truly global mainstream. — TODAY
