Manufacturer's Link
Overall Grade: A
VITAL STATS:
- 2007 Toyota Prius Base
- Light Green
- Hybrid (Class XG)
- 86 miles (SJC had received it just 3 days prior to my arrival)
OVERVIEW: Feelin' green? This is the car for you. There's a new wave of ecofriendly cars in rental fleets, and this was my first drive in one (rode in one in France). Sizewise its got that "just right" feeling, not too big, not too small (though if I had to pick... it would be on the small side). Great car for commuting and putzing around town.
INTERIOR: Very... different. Your dash gauges (electronic) are still in front of you... just all the way at the base of the windshield. The central touchscreen display controls the climate and audio, as well as give you your power usage information... a neat illustration of what power is going where (wheels, gas engine, electric motor, battery). The steering wheel is small, and is ovoid instead of round. The seats were comfy, it felt roomy for a small car and there's decent cargo room (being a hatchback).
AUDIO: Decent, standard base factory set up. RDS radio, CD, steering wheel controls.... NO aux input (sorry iPod users).
MECHANICAL: Where to start... well, the obvious comparison would be the Corolla. Let me say, it beats the Corolla in all measurements of performance. It hugged corners well (but it ain't no Ferrari). It's got a LOT of mid-range pep (thanks to the naturally-torquey e-motor). Road noise was louder than average, probably because of lack of insulation to make it lighter. It took potholes relative well too.
It's not user-friendly, at least just out of the box... and you have to forget a lot of things you thought you knew about a car. To turn on accessory power, you insert the smart key (think key fob without the key) into the slot and push the "START" button. To actually "turn on the engine" you have to
press then brake pedal
then push the button. It will light up some lights, make some clicking sounds, and that's it. Very anticlimactic, as there's no "vroom vroom" to signal the start of the car.... just a "READY" light next to the speedo. The "shifter" (mounted just left of the radio) is really just a switch that's sort of in the shape of a shifter, probably to make us humans feel a little bit better. Here's a reference list for those (all of us) used to the standard shift.
- P = push the P button.
- R = left+up
- N = left+hold
- D = left+down
Once you learn the nuances, then it becomes easy to drive.
And, for that all important stat... somehow, I drove ~55 miles, and filled it up with 1.1 gal.
FINAL IMPRESSIONS: I would definitely rent this again.... I actually enjoyed driving the Prius as much as the DTS... and that's saying a lot. Now, if they only stuck the Hybrid Synergy drive into a Tundra
PROS:
- "I want my MPG..."
- Acceleration... leave the CHP in the dust!
- Tons of random storage space.
- Easy to drive and maneuver...
CONS:
- ... once you figure out how to turn it on.
- Weird blind spots to get used to.
- Don't expect to take your family and pets on a week-long roadtrip on this.
- (Avis-related) I'd like to see an up-featured Prius (Touring trim, sunroof, NAV, etc.)