There is no question the 2010 Toyota Prius is a comfortable compact with enviable fuel economy – we got a smidgen over 50 mpg in a week of driving.

But can you call a $30,000 hybrid an economy car?

2010 Prius

The iconic gasoline-electric hybrid favored by movie stars is all-new for this model year and the third-generation Prius offers more room, more power and more miles per gallon than its predecessors. It’s a pretty neat trick.

George Jetson would feel right at home slipping behind the wheel of the Prius, even if it doesn’t fly. Yet.

A push-button start replaces the old-fashioned key-in-the-ignition system. Another push-button puts the car in park. The tiny gearshift is mounted high on the center console, which arches between the front seats.

The Prius is powered by a larger and more powerful 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle, four-cylinder engine that produces 98 horsepower. Combined with the electric motor, the hybrid system generates a combined 134 net horsepower, 24 horsepower more than the previous generation.

The Prius still won’t snap your head back – the 0-60 mph time nudges 10 seconds – but there is enough power to safely merge onto freeway traffic. And folks don’t buy this car to drag race, anyway.

A feature that allows you to drive on battery power only, although not far and not fast, is pretty cool for driving around the neighborhood.

The cabin is quieter than you typically experience in a compact car, the product of improved sound insulation and improved vibration damping. The interior is classier than most compacts, too. Leather seating. Nicely done fit and finish.

2010 Prius

You can load the Prius with enough electronics to stock a Best Buy. The moonroof package includes solar panels, located over the rear seating area, that power a ventilation system that helps keep the interior air temperature close to the outside ambient temperature to shorten cool-down time when your start driving.

The solar system is part of a $3,600 option package that includes a voice-activated touch-screen DVD navigation system, a JBL sound system with eight speakers and XM satellite radio capability, USB port with iPod connectivity and a surprisingly handy integrated backup camera.

Other options include dynamic radar cruise control, which adjusts your speed to keep a safe distance from the car in front of you.

Anyone still concerned about the longevity of hybrid technology can find some comfort in the warranty coverage. Toyota’s powertrain warranty is five years or 60,000 miles but the hybrid-related components, including the HV battery, battery control module, hybrid control module and inverter with converter, are covered for eight years/100,000 miles. In some states – California and New York among them – hybrid-related components are covered for 15 years/150,000 miles with the exception of the hybrid battery, which is warranted for 10 years/150,000 miles.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

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Gee-whiz technology always starts out expensive. Graying boomers can remember paying $400 for a VCR. That first DVD player probably set you back $600. Now you can buy one at a grocery store for less than $40.

The 2010 Honda Insight is no $40 DVD player, but it proves the point: costly technology eventually becomes affordable. The starting sticker price of the Insight LX, the most basic of the three trim levels available, is $19,800. The MSRP for the top-of-the-line Insight EX with navigation system is $23,100 plus $670 destination and handling fees.

That makes the Honda Insight a couple grand cheaper than its look-alike competitor, the Toyota Prius, and the cheapest gasoline-hybrid now on the market.

Add that lower sticker price to 40-plus miles per gallon and you have a pretty economical economy car. The car tested got 41.8 mpg during a week of mixed driving, including a few episodes of harsh acceleration.

This edition of the Honda Insight has little in common with the car originally bearing the name, introduced as America’s first mass-produced hybrid car in December 1999 and later discontinued. This edition maintains fuel efficiency while adding comfort and practicality.

The car’s cabin contains the typical Honda ergonomic genius. Everything is laid out just so with the only minor gripe that the driver has to reach around the gearshift to get to the cup holder. The set up could make bringing a Venti Americano from holder to lips a bit tricky.

It’s easy to find a comfortable driver position thanks to a height-adjustable seat and telescoping steering column. The driver and front passenger will find plenty of legroom. Legroom for two rear seat riders is decent. The back seat is too narrow for three average size adults, however.

The cargo area accessible through the hatchback is surprisingly roomy and the fold-down rear seats add hauling flexibility.

The Insight is powered by Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist^TM system that pairs an 88-horsepower 1.3-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and a 10-kilowatt electric motor that adds 13 horsepower. In this case 88 and 13 adds up to 98 horsepower for the combination.

That sounds slower than it is. Acceleration is good enough to merge into heavy freeway traffic if you’re at all paying attention. But don’t try to pass any tractor-trailer rigs when going up hill. And, as you might expect, the tiny engine complains loudly when forced to work hard.

The continuously variable automatic transmission is smooth and efficient.

But the people who drive this car are the sort of people who avoid jackrabbit starts anyway. And the Insight’s behavior modification will alter that habit if you have it. The Insight has a digital speedometer display that changes background color according to the fuel efficiency of your driving style. On this dash, green equals good. Blue is bad. Punch the pedal, the light goes dark blue. Use a feather touch, the light stays green.

As is the industry standard these days, even the base trim of the Insight comes with a long list of features: automatic climate control, power windows, a four-speaker AM/FM audio system with CD player and iPod jack and an array of airbags. The Insight EX adds electronic stability control, cruise control and an upgraded audio system with six speakers.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit, that perennial display of motor muscle, finds itself in a serious mood this year.

With every top automaker in the U.S. reporting double-digit sales declines for 2008 (and GM still teetering on the precipice) it is a safe bet that the tenor at times will be more matte gray than Corvette red.

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But for those who seek the light at the end of the tunnel, there is much to celebrate — or at least laud — at this year’s show. And most of it is green, green, green.

“It’s the most important year ever for hybrid vehicles. We’ve had most of our major press conferences completed, and probably 80 percent of the major press conferences all revolved around hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles,” said Doug Fox, co-chair of the 2009 NAIAS, which opens to the public on Saturday.

“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. And it’s not just the press coverage. The automakers in attendance — and that includes pretty much ALL the automakers at what remains the biggest auto show on the continent — are showing everything from cars to batteries to tires that improve energy efficiency.

“There is an incredible revolution underway,” Fox said, citing some key unveilings, such as the first glimpe of the BYD (Build Your Own Dreams) E6 all-electric vehicle from China (pictured top) and the announcement by General Motors that it will open the first domestic lithium-ion battery factory to supply its upcoming all-electric Volt.

The Detroit show does appear replete with eco-events. Michelin will be displaying new more energy-efficient tires, and on Monday announced a design contest for even more efficient tires.

Toyota has brought its environmental darling, the Prius, newly designed for 2010 with better aerodynamics, solar components and higher gas mileage (50 mpg compared with 45 mpg).

Honda will be premiering its 2010 Insight (pictured here), nosing its way back into the hybrid-electric market with estimated 40 to 43 mpg, and expected to be available in the U.S. in April.

“A lot of the excitement used to be about styling and design. This year, it’s really under the hood. That’s where they’re concentrating, on engines, transmissions and batteries,” Fox said, noting that the next step, developing an alternative fuel or battery infrastructure, is also part of the buzz.

At this show, the red carpet for frilly concept cars has been replaced by a green track, literally, to showcase the next new thing.

The Detroit show will help patrons envision the great big, green future by letting them ride in electric cars on an “Eco Experience Track,” a demo driving area with a panoramic “natural background” that aims to simulate a clean emissions jaunt.

Just as the iPod has become synonymous with digital music players, Toyota’s Prius is the primary car people tend to think of when it comes to hybrid electric vehicles. The Prius alone accounts for 75 percent of the hybrid cars sold in the United States, according to Toyota.

With Honda taking aim at the same market with its redesigned, very Prius-looking Insight, it appears Toyota may try to extend its lead by turning Prius into a line of cars much like its Scion and Lexus brands. The New York Times reports that James E. Lentz III, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., is lobbying Toyota executives in Japan to make the move.

Lentz may well have the clout to pull this off: Americans buy 65 to 70 percent of all Toyota hybrids sold worldwide. The Times says Lentz doesn’t know when Toyota might approve the project but talks will continue next month in Japan.

The separate Prius brand would be sold only in the United States.

Meanwhile, Toyota is continuing to develop other alternative fuel programs for the future. At a recent Toyota Sustainable Mobility Seminar in Portland, Ore., company officials announced that four RAV4 electric vehicles will be used by the City of Portland and the state of Oregon to develop an electric-charging infrastructure in preparation for the arrival of future zero- and low-emission vehicles. Portland State University will use the vehicles to shuttle people from mass-transit terminals to downtown and suburban locations.

The company also is planning to unveil a natural gas–powered Camry hybrid concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show next month.

And in September, Toyota began testing a plug-in Prius hybrid on public roads in the United Kingdom. The prototype is similar to the current Prius, with the exception of a second nickel-metal hydride hybrid battery pack that provides greater electric power. With more electric power in reserve, the vehicle is capable of operating in pure-electric mode longer and faster than the current Prius.

Toyota also says it is accelerating development of plug-in hybrid vehicles equipped with lithium-ion batteries. The company will begin sales to fleet customers at the end of 2009.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

See more GREEN CARS stories

Toyota will become the first major automaker to use solar power when it installs solar panels on the next-generation of its Prius hybrid, according to a Reuters report citing Japan’s Nikkei business daily.
The Japanese automaker plans to add solar panels on the roof of the high-end Prius models to power the car’s air conditioning, according to the newspaper. The gasoline-electric hybrid car will be redesigned early in 2009. Toyota has sold more that 1 million Prius sedans since it launched in Japan in 1997.