Car manufacturers come up
with all sorts of names for their cars.
Sometimes it's a series of numbers, other times it's a letter, maybe
even a combo of the two. It's most often a name the car maker hopes will sum up
the car in one word.
In a lot of cases, it may
not make sense or you have no idea what the word means.
That was the case when I
was handed the keys to a 2012 Toyota
Prius V.
I came to learn Prius
means "something that precedes or takes precedence."
In the world of "going
green" and hybrid cars, the Prius certainly does take precedence. Since 2000, Toyota
has sold more than a million of the hybrids in the US alone.
As for the "V" it does not
mean "5", it means versatility. The new Prius is bigger and roomier. It gets a 3 inch longer wheel base, is half a
foot longer and about an inch wider.
It's actually offers up more room than some mid size sedans such as Toyota's own Camry.
When my Prius expert Mike
opened the car up, I was surprised to see that much room. This isn't the tiny compact hybrid you're
used too; this is a load up the family with all your stuff and take off on a
road trip. All while getting 44 miles
per gallon which is down just a tick due from the previous models due to the
size.
There is plenty of
headroom, more than enough legroom for backseat passengers and a very large
hatch which gets downright huge when you fold down the rear seats.
If you're familiar with
the inside of a Prius, a lot of it will look the same. It's built well and laid
out nice with all the controls in the proper places. But I thought the steering wheel felt a bit
"plastic-y" and cheap.
What's new and very high
tech this year is Toyota's
Entune. It's essentially an extension of
your Smartphone. Once you get it all
linked up, there are a number of Entune enabled apps that allow you to do just
about anything. From finding restaurants,
stocks, sports, traffic, weather… you can do anything your phone can right from
the dash of your car. The one thing to
keep in mind is this, it uses your data plan, so if you do not have an
unlimited plan, you'll need to watch your data use and your monthly bill.
As is the case with any
car these days, you name the option and you can have it, including a panoramic moon
roof.
This was my first
experience driving a Prius so I needed a lesson on how to get moving. You don't just put the car in "D" and go. You need to remember the car is pretty high
tech under the hood. Once I learned the
proper order of pushing buttons, moving sticks and pressing pedals, I was off
and running.
Outside of some clicks and
whirs from the hybrid set up, the car is eerily quiet. But if you press the little button and put
the car into "Power" mode, that little 1.8 liter engines puts those 134 ponies
to the tires and makes some noise.
That was one of my
concerns too, how was the car going to do getting into traffic and
passing? The 10 second 0 to 60 time
won't win you any races, but it pulls enough to merge and stay up to speed with
the rest of traffic.
There are two other
driving modes to choose from depending on how economical and green you want to
be.
If you really want to get
in on the going green movement, just wait until 2013 when Toyota rolls out the Prius plug-in across the
country. Right now the car is only available
in limited markets.
The "V" is fun to buzz
around in. When I picked it up, there
were only 9 miles on the odometer it and it was averaging 26 mpg. But the more I drove it; those mpg numbers
kept going up. The ride is nice and the
car is pretty nimble. But the looks of the
V aren't for everyone so for those who need the style of a normal looking sedan
or even SUV, Toyota offers hybrid version of the Camry and Highlander.
The Prius V starts around
26k and you can build yours here.
