RUNNINGS
BY HARRY KIRSBAUM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN
Compare MIL
lettrothers In the FREE FUEL ECONOMY GUIDE available at the dealer.
CITY MPG
Fuel Economy
HIGHWAY MPG
Information
-
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Top: The dashboard display screen serves many functions,
here showing the Energy Monitor between gasoline and
electric power.
Middle: Toyota's hybrid gasoline-electric engine.
Bottom: Sticker shock — the city mileage of 60 mpg is
better than the highway rate of 51 mpg.
'm trying my level-headed
best to live in the moment,
to balance my chakras, save
the whales and garnish my
vodka tonics with wheat grass.
I'm test-driving the earth-friendly
2004 Toyota Prius, desired by sensi-
tive Hollywood stars and. Birken-
stock-wearing, tree-hugging techno-
geeks everywhere.
The Prius comes with a gas-elec-
tric hybrid engine — a 1.5-liter 4-
8 •
OCTOBER 2004 •
PLATINUM
cylinder gasoline engine combined
with a 67-horsepower "permanent
magnet AC synchronous motor," or
two D-cell batteries to the layper-
son.
Whatever the engine contains,
the Prius gets 50 miles per gallon in
the city and 61 on the highway,
which is wonderful with oil current-
ly trading at $42 gazillion a barrel.
The Prius base price is $20,875
with an 18-month waiting list, but
the one I test-drove was about
527,000 and loaded with space-age
features, including a voice naviga-
tion system and Bluetooth cell
phone technology, which I believe
is good for periodontists.
There's no real key to turn, just a
micro-cassette-sized opener that
automatically unlocks the door as
you approach. Once inside, there's
no ignition — you press a power
button.
When you first drive the car, you
might think the engine has stalled
out at a stoplight, but the energy
monitor on the display screen is
showing the electric motor is now
running the car to save emissions,
allowing the Prius to average a
range of 500 miles with an 11.9-gal-
lon gas tank.
The car handles like any other
mid-size sedan, smooth and easy,
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