The Toyota Prius's price has been revised from RM175k (including insurance) to RM139k (including insurance) because of the reduce tax of hybrid cars below 2.0. The Toyota Prius is a hybrid car. If you don't know what's a hybrid car, it is a vehicle that runs on petrol and battery. Trust me, this car worth every penny! It comes with a 3 years warranty and 2 years free maintenance. Moreover, this Toyota Prius is fully imported from Japan which means you would expect high end specs such as (HUD) head up display, high-grade fabric seats, cruise control, 7 airbags and etc.
Projector Lamps give a better vision for the driver.
A sign that shows that you do care for the environment, but do you?
Side-Cornering Indicator.
To start the car, simply press the button (POWER) and you will hear a 'cling' sound. Trust me, this will be the most silent car ever!
Tilt Steering means more agility in your hands. There are multi-touch controls on the steering wheels to control the air-cond temperature and the volume control of the stereo. (Steering wheel is leather wrapped)
There is no tiptronic mode for the gearbox as tt is fully automatic. To my view, I think the gearbox looks very futuristic. I believe this gearbox concept is also applied in the new BMW's 7 speed gearbox. If you notice, there are 3 different buttons of driving modes beside the gearbox. They are PWR mode, ECO mode and EV mode. The PWR mode means that the car would only run on petrol whereas the ECO mode means that it runs on petrol and battery at the same time and the EV mode means that it only runs on battery. When the car is running on EV mode, it will change to ECO mode automatically when the battery runs out or the car is running more than 45km/h.
The stereo comes with an intergrated Bluetooth network for wireless connection network between a mobile phone.
There is a (tv-look alike) panel at the dashboard which shows the battery indicator, speedometer and the odometer. It is very convenient system for the driver because shows how much fuel is burnt and how much of battery is left so that you would know when to fuel up. Talking about petrol, this car runs on only 6 litres of petrol per 100km. That could probably save you RM3600 per year.... PHEW!
The Hybrid Synergy Drive is recognized as one of the most iconic technology of all times in the motoring history because of the way it works. This technology is also used in other Toyota's hybrid models. If you want to know more about the technology, please check it in the internet. This technology has existed in the market for several years already and there were hardly any problems about it which is what makes the car reliable.
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To compare the Toyota Prius with the Honda Civic Hybrid, I would recommend you the Prius. Although the new Honda Civic Hybrid's price has been revised from RM128k to RM108k, the hybrid technology is not as efficient as the Prius. Besides that, the Honda Civic Hybrid looks too much alike to the normal Honda Civic which is running on petrol.
Price before revision:
- RM175,000 (Peninsular Malaysia)
Price after revision:
- RM139,900 (Peninsular Malaysia)
- RM141,500 (Sabah and Sarawak)
Summary
- Manufacturer: Toyota
- Model: Prius 3rd Generation
- Transmisson: CVT Auto
- Engine: 1.8 liter Hybrid Synergy Drive
- Horsepower: 134hp (engine + electric motor)
- 0-100km/h: 10.1 seconds
- Top Speed: 180 km/h
Pros:
- High Specifications (includes Head-Up Display, Keyless Entry, Keyless Go, Cruise Control....)
- Can travel 1000km in a 45 litre tank
- Affordable Price
- CBU from Japan
Cons:
- Cabin feels plastic
- No electric fold side-mirrors
- No other variants for different needs
Overall: 7/10 rating
Regards,
Thomas Lee.
