Toyota Prius

2010 Toyota Prius (4th Generation)

The Toyota Prius is the first mass-produced hybrid automobile. The G21 team of 1,000 engineers threw out 80 designs to get to the first prototype that doubled fuel efficiency and later became the Prius Concept. It was first sold exclusively in Japan starting in 1997, and entered the worldwide market in 2001. By the end of 2003, nearly 160,000 units had been produced for sale in Japan, Europe, and North America, and as of April 2006, Toyota had sold 504,700 Prius models.

 In Latin, prius means "before" or "first." The Prius (2000 to 2003 model years) is certified as a Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). With the 2004 model, the Prius was redesigned as a midsize hatchback, and certified as an Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV). The Japanese 2006 model can back into a parking space by itself. The Prius has won numerous awards including Car of the Year awards for Europe, Japan and North America.

The 1st generation Prius was rated at 32% vehicle efficiency. The 2nd generation improved to 37% efficiency and earned up to 52 mpgs. The 3rd got 60 mpgs in the city and the 4th generation has targeted 40km/l or 94 mpgs with Lithium Ion batteries. The 5th generation is rumored to be plug-in that will be able to travel an estimated 20 miles on electricity alone.