For Toyota, launching the third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius must feel a little like being the crew of Apollo 12. Quick…what are their names? Don’t know? Didn’t think so. It’s not because their mission was less important (it wasn’t) or because they were less capable than Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins (they weren’t), but because Apollo 11 was an impossibly tough act to follow. That’s where Toyota finds itself with the new Prius, but with a wrinkle even Conrad, Gordon and Bean didn’t face: Now the Russians are on the moon, too.
OK, enough with the moonshot analogy, and enough of the teasers. The question is: What is the new Prius like to drive?
The 2010 Toyota Prius is a great car in many ways. It improves on the second-generation Prius with more power, better styling, and more technology than you can imagine. Toyota nailed all of the high points it needed to, and the Prius will probably continue to sell extremely well, thanks to its built-in fan base and well-deserved reputation as the leading eco-car.
The problem is that even with all the improvements, it’s still not a driver’s car. For that, there’s the 2010 Honda Insight. Sure, the 2010 Insight isn’t as thrifty as the 2010 Prius, and maybe it doesn’t have as many gizmos. So what? They both get amazing fuel economy, since Toyota will hold the line on Prius pricing the Insight will be cheaper by thousands of dollars, and the reality is that the money you save in gas costs with a Prius won’t even buy you an extra bag of groceries each month.
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If you’re buying a full-size SUV, hybrid or not, be honest: You have an attitude. Luckily, you don’t have to be a planet-killing meanie, thanks to the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and its siblings, the GMC Yukon Hybrid and Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. These are truly wonders of engineering. The technology used to get a 5,500 pound full-size body-on-frame V-8 powered SUV to get the same in-town gas mileage as a four-cylinder sedan is amazing. They really do let you have your cake…and smash it into the other guy’s face when he sneers and assumes your big truck is a guzzler.
Frankly, they’re better at saving gas than a Toyota Prius or the soon-to-be-released 2010 Honda Insight, either of which would probably be pretty fuel efficient even without all the electric drive stuff. I mean, think about it: A lightweight car with a small engine is going to get good mileage, regardless of whether it’s supplemented by electric motors or not. The Tahoe Hybrid also benefits from being at the big end of the fuel economy graph, not the little one. That is, any gain – even a small one – reaps big results. For example, let’s say you buy a Honda Insight instead of a Honda Fit, giving you fuel economy that averages 41 mpg instead of the Fit’s 31 mpg. Drive 12,000 miles a year, and you’ll save $236 if gas stays at $2.50 a gallon. Do the same with a regular Chevy Tahoe and a Tahoe Hybrid, and you’ll save more than $446.
OK, so the math works out, but Chevy Tahoe Hybrids aren’t plying the streets everywhere yet. That might be because there aren’t Fresh and Easy grocery stores on every corner.
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