written by on 25/04/2009
Quiet at a stop and when not accelerating at city speeds, automatic gearbox is smooth, petrol economy is a world-beater
Toyota Prius 1.5 Hybrid T Spirit is noisy when accelerating, constant attention from others - often negative because the car is not european (I live in europe), my brakes make chirps as there is a funny electric braking system that bypasses the normal brake pads so they become rusty, pedestrians don't hear the engine, wish it had proper distronic-plus cruise control down to zero kph (even the 2010 does not have this full capability). toyota dealers hit-and-miss, my steering needs constant adjustment as car does not go straight down the road, not futuristic enough for example there is no automatic hill-hold function when you take foot off the brake for more than a few seconds as the car tries to accelerate to "mimic" conventional cars.
This half electric car is a taste of the next generation of cars. Looking forward to future large fully-electric highway-capable cars.
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