Toyota Prius: Original gangster of hybrid technology

I can remember going to the launch of the original Toyota Prius over 15 years ago. Although it was our first taste of local hybrid technology, the car we first sampled was in fact the second generation of the nameplate.

It was also a time when I thought getting old was for people like my parents, and I was still beautiful (said as an absolute joke), completely bulletproof even before drinking myself brave, and I only had eyes for fast cars. And yet here I was, drinking manufacturer paid for Jack Daniels, and thinking, why does such a car even exist?

At this stage on planet earth, boys weren’t legally allowed in the ladies’ bathroom at school, and life was still very much internal combustion engines. We were being made promises that there would never such a thing as an BMW M-car SUV, nor would turbocharging be used. And now? SUVs outsell almost everything else on the market, they are turbocharged, and set lap records at the Nürburgring.

On the ground, not in some development lab in Japan, like in the actual streets of Jozi, electric cars were dinky toys you bought your kids for their birthdays. Look where we are heading, more and more manufacturers are setting ambitious dates for only producing full electric cars, but what fills the gap between then and now? And this is why a car like the Toyota Prius exists.

Now in its fourth generation, this quirky looking original gangster of hybrid technology in South Africa represents a platform that is still going to be with us for a long time to come. And that is an internal combustion engine combined with self-charging electrical assistance in terms of efficiency and performance.

The proven 1.8-litre 2ZR-FXE naturally aspirated engine remains, in updated form and produces 72 kW at 5200 rpm and 142 Nm at 3600 rpm. This coupled to two smaller and lighter electric motors that sees a further 53 kW and 163 Nm being produced for a system total of 90 kW.

Now don’t begin to even ask me how it really all works and how the numbers are arrived at, but I can tell you that the change from petrol to electric, and back and then a combination of the two happens seamlessly.

What will be of more importance is that the Toyota Prius is said to use a mere 3.7-litres of fuel per 100 km. And remember there is no paying for electricity to charge the Prius, as this is done by the engine and by regeneration for you. Not that I have driven it this way yet, the claim is 10.6 seconds to get to 100 km/h and the top speed is 180 km/h.

We will be living with the Toyota Prius for the next month and then we can tell you all about what has been updated for 2021. It is priced at a reasonable R518 200 and comes with a six service/90 000 km service plan, three year/100 000 km warranty and an eight year/195 000 km hybrid battery warranty.