The Generation III Toyota Prius Hybrid is a five-door lift back. Toyota says that it is "a Camry sized car". With only a fraction less passenger space than the same design year (2003) Camry (2883 litres in the Camry vs. 2724 litres in the Prius) and only a fraction less luggage space also, (472 litres in the Camry vs. 456 litres in the Prius) it seems quite an achievement that they managed to squeeze so much space into the Toyota Prius Generation III given that the overall length is just over 360mm shorter than the current Toyota Camry.
Although the Toyota Prius Generation III Hybrid only has a 1500cc petrol engine, when combined with the 50kW power of the Prius' electric motor, it achieves the same 0-100km time as the 2003 Camry 2.4ltr auto and better mid-range acceleration. A common assumption is there will have to be a compromise in performance in order for the Toyota Prius Hybrid to achieve its huge fuel savings, when the reality is the performance is superior to an equivalent non-hybrid car. In fact people who drive the Toyota Prius Hybrid agree, not only is there no compromise on performance but the Toyota Prius Hybrid is actually smother and quieter and an all-round nicer car to drive than your average equivalent sized vehicle.
The average fuel consumption of the Toyota Prius Generation III Hybrid is around 5 litres/100km (20km/litre or 56 miles/gallon), which means on one tank of petrol (45 litres) you can drive from Auckland to Wellington and still have more than enough fuel in the tank to do some shopping when you get there. The Toyota Prius Hybrid achieves this by using electric-motors/generators, a Ni-Mh battery pack and a highly efficient 1500cc petrol engine. These are coupled to a revolutionary transmission system that is simple (only 21 moving parts), reliable and allows the motors to work together in the most efficient combination. The result is a mid-sized five-door hatchback with the best fuel economy and lowest emissions available on the market today.
The Toyota Prius Generation III Hybrid has a 5 star NCAP safety rating, the highest possible and in 2005 the Prius received the prestigious European Car Of The Year Award.
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