The new Toyota Prius has been voted Japan’s Car of the Year by motoring journalists and industry experts at the Tokyo motor show.
The new-generation Prius, which delivers more power, better fuel efficiency and lower emissions, has been Japan’s top selling new car for the past five months in a row, says Toyota proudly – every month since the car first arrived in showrooms.
With more than 31 000 sales in September alone, the new Prius last month accounted for almost 11% of the entire new car market in Japan.
It has not yet had the same success in South Africa. Car buyers here still seem to be more concerned with power and top speeds, or off-road ability, than saving the planet.

You can pick on things that you don’t like about the new Prius. For example, the huge rear window could be a work of art. But it, and the view via the rear-view mirror, is spoilt somewhat by a rear wing. (The same problem afflicts the Honda Civic hatch.)
In the same way, the aerodynamic lines of the Prius are eye-catching, but a little slab-sided from the side.
What one cannot argue about, even four years after the Prius first arrived in South Africa, is that this is a car of the future, even perhaps a car that is ahead of its time in this country.
The eerily silent engine, clever hybrid technology combining electric and petrol power, the generous proportions of the interior, and the large boot … all deserve praise.
When Toyota first brought the Prius to SA they would not allow them to be sold, only leased; and they could be driven only on tar roads.
Now, of course, South Africans can buy the hybrid Prius, and trend-setters are doing that. I even got a nod of approval from a partner in my doctor’s medical practice when he saw me driving the car.
The Hilux and Corolla need not feel nervous about being overtaken by the Prius in the local sales stakes. The car does well, as we have seen, in Japan, in California where every movie star and celeb has to have at least one, and in places in Europe where people are encouraged to buy them because of tax concessions and cheap or free access to city centres. But the new Prius is a big advance on the ones we first saw in South Africa four years ago, quite apart from the fact that you no longer need to stick strictly to tarred roads.
You will pay R326 200 for the Advanced model and R370 000 for the Exclusive.
Apart from its green credentials, the Prius comes with electric windows, power steering, air con, a good audio system, ABS, a heads-up display on the windscreen, automatic rain-sensing windscreen wipers, seven airbags, heated front passenger seats, a park-assist system with a camera and screen showing what is behind you when you reverse, pop-up headlight cleaners and satellite navigation.
The car is extremely comfortable on long journeys, with a sense of luxury in the cabin.

Toyota have also increased the size of the petrol engine, from a 1.5-litre to a 1.8-litre that puts out 100kW (24% more than before). The electric motor has increased power by 20% to 60kW and when the electric and petrol motors work together under acceleration the Prius gets up and goes in no uncertain terms. Top speed is a claimed 180km/h and the 0-100km/h is between 10 and 11 seconds.
In stop-start traffic, for limited distances, the electric engine can work alone. An electric-only mode (press a button on the dashboard) will take you 2km, at a maximum speed of 50km/h. Then the petrol motor will come in.
You can also choose a power mode and an eco mode, said to improve fuel economy by 15%.
Toyota claims fuel economy of 4.1litres/100km and in real-life driving on the Reef I saw figures below 5litres/100km, something I have, until now, achieved only in a small diesel car.
If the battery is fully charged, there is no sound of the engine starting up. It takes some getting used to. Press the Start button, and a “ready” sign comes up in the instrument binnacle. Slip the car into Drive or Reverse using the green gear knob and drive away in utter and absolute silence. It can give passers-by and car guards quite a start.

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