after test driving the 2012 prius v wagon, theres a few things of interets to understand. you have to drive the car to fully understand it.
when u are in the drivers seat, before u set off, you can chose to -
1. drive off from standing position in either battery only, or chose petrol only, or chose auto mode and the computer does it all.
2. when the car runs out of fuel, the battery still operates in the new toyota model i am told because the new one has the lithium battery, when it gets to a certain level it wont let u drive over a certain speed until it will ofcourse chose to slow til a safety stop, but given any car stops when out of petrol, the prius has the extra help with the battery. thats a bonus
3. I asked toyota australia today about who has these new V models and they have only been rolled out in the last 4 weeks. the cars u are talking about mike are not the same cars or models. toyota aust confirmed that about who has them and who doesnt. the old model is not the lithium battery, and the old model is, the older model. alot changes when a new model comes out.
the way to look at this new technology is to look at what it adds to a car. it simply gives u extra kilometres for free, thats right, free, cause travel on battery is free. and as we all know, strting off, and getting up to speed in a petrol car is where all the fuel is burned. de-accelerating is also free, cause its on battery. driving in traffic is free etc etc etc. so imagine if i added those features to your existing car, it means free driving without petrol for a certain time. then imagine if i made your current car use only 4.4 litres per kilometre instead of 8, or 10 or 12 litres per kilometre etc. you cant lose with this techology.
the videos show wwhere over 30 different car manufacturers are now using this technology, why, it works.
by the way, every taxi driver i have spoken to about hybrid loves them, so that stuff u said mike i find very hard to fathom. the cars are quiet, the cars are cheaper to run, much cheaper, the warranyty on the new model is 8 yrs for the battery, and the extended 220,000 klms or 5 years. its a winner. nothing can be said to knock those figures, nothing.
the cars are beautiful to drive n quiet, they are the latest 2012 builds with the latest stuff. if u look at the build quality of the latest stuff, whether it be prius V seven seater, or the entire camry range, just beautiful cars. ya cant knock progress unless u want to live in the past.
it wont be long before holden and ford etc follow suit. they are already working on the next ford falcon and commodore with the same technology.
why, because this technology saves money and is the latest. it will be mainstream sooner or later, and if you speak to ford, holden etc, their media dept say they are working on the next generation of hybrid vehicles. they all want a slice of the pie.
the prius 7 seater is perfect for my wife n the kids for her family car. its cheap to run. cheap to own with fixed price servicing. its cheap to lease at 3 percent, it wioll save me a good 60 a week in fuel costs, how can that be a bad thing, and because its toyota its safe n reliable.
driving one and listening to my mate, the toyota engineer, not a salesperson has convinced me its the latest n greatest technology. i cant argue with the facts. they are great vehicles. thats my opinion, and i reckon i am spot on. who wants to drive a gas gussler when you dont have to.
what other car has a speedo with heads up display built into the windscreen.its ultra modern. i think its a terrific batch of vehicles, prius or camry etc.
anyway, i like it, and that belief doesnt harm anyone else. etc.
