2006 Toyota Prius hybrid Reviews
2006Toyota Prius hybrid
The biggest change, at least superficially, to the 2006 Toyota Prius seems to the big ol’ hybrid badge they’ve added on the side of the car. Now into its second generation as the poster car for environmental responsibility, it’s not as if the Prius isn’t instantly recognizable. Its distinctive shape makes it easy to pick out on the road, and its unofficial status as the cool car for big-bucks but green-thinking Hollywood stars to drive has made it a bit of a star in its own right. Driving a hybrid car has become about more than just using less fuel and saving the environment.
Driving a hybrid car has become about more than just using less fuel and saving the environment. Thanks to the continuously variable transmission, the engine doesn’t rev up and down like a conventional car; mostly it hums along at a constant speed.
The dashboard is very space-age, with a line of instruments at the base of the windshield and a large touch-screen display that cycles between screens for audio, climate control, navigation, and power consumption. Thanks to the hatchback design, this hybrid is also more versatile than your average sedan, the rear seats folding in two sections to increase cargo area if you need it.
On the highway, the Prius pretty much drives like any normal car, save for having to plan a bit farther ahead for passing manoeuvres.
While the Prius doesn’t feel as fast as a regular car in normal driving conditions, it is in most ways a no-compromise car.
The automaker's Hybrid Synergy Drive system uses an onboard electric motor/generator that works separately or in tandem, as conditions warrant, with a 1.5-liter gas engine to deliver good power with exceptional fuel economy - as high as 60 mpg - and ultra-low emissions. Anti-lock brakes, power windows, locks and mirrors, and an electrically operated air conditioning system come standard, with a keyless entry and startup feature among the Prius' optional features.
The Toyota Prius is Toyota’s gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle and was the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid when it went on sale in Japan in 1997. The "Toyota Prius" entered the U.S. market in 2000, and the second-generation 2004 Prius debuted in the fall of 2003 as the first Toyota product to use Hybrid Synergy Drive, Toyota’s third-generation gas-electric hybrid powertrain technology.
