oyota has begun its limited feedback-harvesting lease program for the plug-in version of the Prius hybrid. We drove a representative prototype at Toyotas proving grounds in Japan. Some 150 will hit U.S. roads from this month, prior to it going on general sale in 2011 -- around the same time, of course, as the Chevy Volt.One of the fascinating things about the eco-car revolution now upon us is the differences between competing technologies. So Toyotas conception of a plug-in gas car is a rather different proposition to GMs.Toyotas is basically a Prius, but with a higher-capacity battery than the normal hybrid. You plug it in to an electrical outlet and, fully charged, it will go in electric mode for about 12 miles of gentle urban running. After that it switches back to the usual Prius hybrid powertrain where a blend of electric and gas power drives the wheels. The Volt, on the other hand, uses only its electric motor to drive the wheels, while the gas engine only supplies electricity to the motor after the battery is depleted.At the U.S. launch in La Jolla, California I got a chance to try out the Prius of plug-ins, and found the driving experience to be quite different from that of the Chevy Volt prototypes Ive sampled. (For a complete rundown of the physical differences between the plug-in and standard Prius, see our first drive.) The biggest difference is that achieving maximum performance in this car still requires a substantial contribution from the internal combustion engine, so any time you floor the accelerator youre going to ignite fuel. The Volts motivating force is purely electric, so theres always a ton of low-end torque available and you can hotrod around at any speed you like without fear of lighting its engine until the battery depletes to its designated level.
the wheels, while the gas engine only supplies electricity to the motor after the battery is depleted. At the U.S. launch in La Jolla, California I got a chance to try out the Prius of plug-ins, and found the driving experience to be quite different from that of the Chevy Volt prototypes Ive sampled. (For a complete rundown of the physical differences between the plug-in and standard Prius, see our first drive.) The biggest difference is that achieving maximum performance in this car still requires a substantial contribution from the internal combustion engine, so any time you floor the accelerator youre going to ignite fuel. The Volts motivating force is purely electric, so theres always a ton of low-end torque available and you can hotrod around at any speed you like without fear of lighting its engine until the battery depletes to its designated level.
