2008 Toyota Prius

Save the whales, save the trees, but what about save some money? Toyota's little Prius manages to do all three.

Ok, first of all, it looks like a hand-held vacuum cleaner. While I'm sure the designers were going for an "iconic" look, they, um, no. Toyota should thank the car gods that celebrities drive them.

Next, they're slow and feel cheaply made. For a car of such high social status, it lacks that put-together, high quality feel that you get in other Toyotas. And, it's unbelievably slow. Really, it is...I got passed by a turtle with a broken leg.

So, sum up, its ugly, slow and it feels like it was made in China. But there's got to be some redeeming quality about the Prius, right? After all it is a Toyota.

OK, after much debate and several beers, I've decided that the hybrid system on these things, is something of a marvel. It's got an electric motor that propels it up to 20mph, then the 1.5-liter gas motor comes to life and trundles you ever so slowly down the road. And the motor even charges the batteries while you drive. All this mechanical wizardry is good for up to 60mpg! That's almost enough to forgive it's other faults.

This is the second generation of the Prius and it's lost the Toyota Echo look in favor of the roomier, and dare I say, more practical, dirt-devil body style. As with the original, it's powered by Toyota's 1.5-liter 4-cyl and a battery-driven electric motor. Power is put to the front wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission, or CVT. The way it works is the car can be driven like an electric golf cart at speeds under 20mph. And when it's in electric mode it's actually so quiet that you can't hear it coming. So, the Prius saves the ozone layer by driving electrically, but pedestrians with bad hearing and small animals, beware.

Starting off, you're driving like a golf cart until the gas motor sputters to life. But all of your equipment, like the A/C and radio are still on. The switch between the two systems is barely noticeable. And all of this machinery can be observed on the dash mounted screen. This screen also controls the A/C, radio and optional navigation with voice-control. It'll even show your current MPG.

Pretty cool.

Ok, you get a 110hp golf cart that comes with an available anti-skid system, side airbags and front/rear curtain side airbags, ABS and traction control. Other options included xenon headlamps and remote-start.

2008 Model Year Changes: none 2008 Model Year things to look out for: none

If you really want a hybrid, the Prius is an obvious choice. But, there's a lot more refined choices on the market today, so do your homework and check prospective hybrid's service history very thoroughly.