The one thing I’ve learned driving a Prius (2007 touring - the stock is objectively worse) is that the steering wheel demands early turning in a smooth progression. Driving 101, huh? Letting it sway and dig in on the outside first and then it can hold on more than you’d expect. But it can’t be darted or you’ll…

I liked the prius when it was uncool to say so. Seriously, I did though. However I never really caught on to the jdm slam crowd, for any car..

It’s a weird, uncomfortable but heart warming thing to see even Jalopnik call the Prius ‘cool’. Since the global financial crash it has been for a decade for a growing number of…

‘Saved’ assuming Mitsubishi is no more. Let’s just get this right here. We had the Colt (and ForFour) for some time in Europe, they didn’t catch us on fire. It was a respectable choice, but one that slipped off the tip of our minds so often.

Seriously guys, Jalop, everyone inbetween. We all have a soft spot for Mitsu,…

We must admit, if this was a Kia Soul EV, this would be a much bigger story that you could only be under a rock to not have heard of.

It would be far better as a full EV, or with the new Insight drivetrain.

It needed more than a hybrid system, it most definitely needed a step up like a plug-in. Or at the very least a ‘double battery’ in parallel for capacity or series for oomph, but these limitations are strictly down to Toyota’s views on furthering electrification, not on the hybrid itself.

But it’s like taking the hydro suspension out of a Citroen, is this still a Prius, let alone improved?

Hahaha!

Nah, nah.. I got this.

I’m seeing wagons and I have to agree. It’s a crying shame you stopped receiving any hatchback-based wagons. The Auris Hybrid estate is basically a Prius but more practical in a 2019 ‘‘Corolla’’ estate body. It would make the Prius V redundant however.

lol, I love it, but over here at least, the Punto the drug dealer’s car! Especially in red, yellow and black, stock or GT.

But Mitsu killed it from the US market last year, although it technically close off new production to the states in 2015. 

As an EV enthusiast, I can’t help but not say ‘Aw, how adorable’ at it all. The C-Zero and iOn are grand, I loved them too, but when they arrived in full production 7 years ago they were already 2008-9 technology on a 2005 kei-car steel chassis. It was bad for 2011 standards, when 80 miles range and +€34,000 was…

slow *moving. ‘‘Looping’’ oh jesus, how did I leave that out?

If it was a slow looping lap then it was most definitely a test of some sort. Could’ve been a battery output test, or even testing the engine when it restarts with zero battery assist. In normal hybrids forcing to drain the battery will make the go into an intense parallel generator mode (a lot like a diesel-electric)…

Hmm, well that’s the thing. Asking someone who’s followed EVs, hybrids (and diesels) down the years, it wouldn’t have possibly caught on as quickly if hybrids weren’t developed as ordinary cars first. It was really a market that was demanded by nobody other than CARB advocates and pollution protesters, anyone who had…

How many lap(s) did it do then? Most Toyota/Lexus hybrids have 1 to 2 kWh of energy, and some up to 4kWh before you start plugging in effectively. It wouldn’t be out of ordinary to have 5kWh on board, it would be enough for an all EV test and then better depleted test. 

I don’t understand how and why is it now have car-culture enthusiasts have started to understand and appreciate hybrids.

We have much better than 48v weak systems for a while now, like it’s an old concept but we have 500v starter motors that are rated 30 bhp (+60 amps) output from the battery and 54 bhp peak worth of…

Answer: If you’ve ever driven a Prius, it’s the same behaviour and concept. The battery is an energy reservoir. Small enough to be quickly recharged by excess engine torque. But it’s not built or intended for marathon-like capacity, it just takes deep dumps of discharge and then recharge via regen and the engine when…

I wouldn’t be surprised if Toyota did. It would make a deal load of sense for them, and why they sat on their ass with their thumbs up for so long on the subject of plug-ins.

Although, GM is a contending buyer, much more than Apple as some actually suggest. It was the first manufacturer to be impacted by Tesla with its…