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2004 Toyota Prius Gasoline Electric Hybrid Mid-Size Sedan
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Mileage (which is why most people will buy the Prius as opposed to the level of emissions it produces) has been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 60/highway, 51/city for a combined 55 miles per gallon. We have heard that in real-world use the numbers are not as high as the EPA quotes. Regardless if you receive a real-world performance and get 48 miles to the gallon as we hear is standard for the product you will still have much lower fuel costs than your neighbors driving traditional economy cars.
The 2004 Prius is no rocket by any stretch of the imagination. But the power is more than adequate for urban commuting, highway travel (once up to speed), and all those weekly short trips around town to keep the homestead supplied and the kids arriving on time for soccer. You won’t win races, but you will stop more than half as often for gas. On a long trip that can be a significant time savings.
Recently Toyota licensed its Hybrid Synergy System to Nissan for use in their hybrid-fuel vehicles that will shortly come to market. It is very interesting to us that Nissan choose to use Toyota’s technology. Nissan is a company that generally demands hiqh-quality technology and prefers to develop, and thus own, their own. This attests to the quality of Toyota’s technology.
Ride and Handling
Our time behind the wheel of the 2004 Prius was extremely limited. We only had 45 minutes to test drive it, and that is not nearly enough time to test a vehicle under normal driving or commuting conditions. That said, the ride we did have seemed as good, if not better, than that of conventional cars in the same price range. The ride was smooth and comfortable. The car was confident on the few twisty roads we drove. Acceleration was surprisingly good for a car with so little horsepower. And, of course, engine noise was minimal.
Toyota kept the test-drive route out of the city and off congested highways. So we cannot say what it would be like to drive a Prius under real world conditions, and thus for its intended uses. Toyota knows some of their test drive opportunities don’t give journalists enough time for thorough vehicle evaluations â€' something they need to remedy. But perhaps Toyota will bring us one for a longer evaluation so we can tell you what it is like to live with the 2004 Prius for more than 45 minutes.
Safety
Prius is designed with small families in mind. Thus the engineers at Toyota have given the car the safety features it needs to keep a family safe on the highways. There are 3-point seatbelts in all 5 seating positions. The front seatbelts have pretensioners, and force limiters. Dual-stage front airbags are standard for the driver and front passenger. Side airbags and head curtains are available as options, and both are very good to have.
Anti-lock brakes are standard. They are also regenerative, which means when in use the electricity generated by the friction of the brakes recharges the car’s batteries.
The 2004 Prius has not been crash tested by either the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but other compact and mid-size Toyotas, like the Corolla, tend to do well in crash tests. While the previous Prius did not meet the same standards as the new Corolla -- which had top level ratings -- we think it is likely that the 2004 Prius will.
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