Review Toyota Prius 2022: The standard fuel economy champion

Toyota has done such an impressive job marketing the fuel-efficient ‘Prius’ that the cheap and economical sedan’s brand name is poised to become an exclusive – or generic – band of the same name. -Aid (sterile bandage), Coke (soft drink),or Kleenex (handkerchief). So it came as no surprise that I contacted the automaker to buy a late-generation Prius when my schedule required a 1,000-mile round trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

According to the article post on Wapcar.my, the Prius name has not changed since the car was first introduced to the US market more than 22 years ago. And, to the casual observer, the car’s shape has changed little since the second-generation redesign (for the 2004 model year) when Toyota turned it into the familiar compact five-door hatchback. belonging to the present with corner noise and high trunk, known as the Kammback body style. The shift was a huge success, and sales skyrocketed – Toyota tripled sales in its first year, and by 2010 it had sold 500,000 units worldwide. 

Today’s Prius retains the same unmistakable shape as its predecessors, including unmistakable sidewalls, cleanly trimmed rear fenders and transparent rear glass for improved visibility. behind. But there are modern angles, sharp LED headlights and a more aggressive front end that add a bit more aggressiveness and personality. The Prius has evolved over time – it still looks new on the outside.

The Prius’ cabin is purely practical and simple, which means it doesn’t pretend to be a luxury car. Most surfaces are hard plastic – matt or glossy finish – and all devices (now clearly positioned) to the center of the dash. Aside from the missing assembly on the other side of the steering wheel and the odd dashboard-mounted gear lever (both of which only took a few hours to adapt), all other controls are well laid out and ergonomic.

Passengers in the front row have plenty of space, but the seating position is low and doesn’t have a lot of stuff (aside from the door panels, center console and center armrest. Adults sitting in the back row will find it comfortable but not too much.) lacks comfort (other than a pair of USB ports) Overall, the synthetic SofTex seat cushion feels more durable (and washable) than soft and supple. /fold 60:40 for enhanced utility.

Front row passengers have plenty of space, but the seating position is low and doesn’t have much stuff (aside from the expected door panels, center console and center armrest). Adults sitting in the back will find them comfortable, but they lack comfort (apart from a pair of USB ports). Overall, synthetic SoftTex seat cushions feel more durable (and washable) than soft and supple. Spacious trunk, 60:40 split/folding seats to enhance utility.

The front-wheel drive Prius is equipped with a naturally aspirated 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine combined with an electric motor. Total system output is 121 hp and 120 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission or CVT. (Note that Toyota also offers an all-wheel drive variant of the Prius, which uses an electric motor on the rear axle to improve traction at speeds up to 43 mph.)

Toyota allows drivers to choose between four different driving modes (Normal, PWR, ECO and EV), varying throttle response, climate control and internal combustion engine operation. The default mode is Normal, which is great for everyday balanced driving. The car will automatically choose between the combustion engine and the electric motor, and the air conditioner will operate at full capacity. PWR, or Power, mode increases the throttle’s sensitivity and adds more torque by using more of the electric motor – it’s the least efficient drive mode.

Eco mode, or Eco, buffers the gas pedal’s input for the smooth operation of the internal combustion engine and the complementary electric motor. It also reduces the use of air conditioning compressors and heaters, for more energy savings – it’s the most fuel-efficient driving mode. Finally, the EV mode forces the vehicle to rely solely on the electric motor. Because the engine is small, it can only drive the Prius at low or parking speeds for short periods of time (press the gas pedal too hard and the combustion engine kicks in to assist with acceleration). It’s commendable to say that the Prius doesn’t make too much of a promise in the dynamics category – it accelerates, brakes and handles just like what you’d expect from a fuel-efficient car.

Acceleration from the 121bhp powertrain is best described as leisurely – the chronograph will show a 0-60mph time in about 10 seconds. It takes some planning and the right timing to join fast-moving traffic (more often than not without a friendly wave of apology as faster cars slow your rear bumper) . While the Prius will run on its own over long or steep hills, with its internal combustion engine like a wet vacuum cleaner, its ability to overcome short distances is probably unquestionable. Toyota Prius is not designed for people in a hurry.

Toyota equips the Prius with hydraulic disc brakes – a very convenient system. However, these are complemented by a regenerative braking system that uses the engine to convert the vehicle’s reciprocating motion (kinetic energy) back into electricity during deceleration. Combining the two makes the brake pedal a bit awkward (someone’s spongy) at first, but your foot will quickly adapt to the new sensation. Power outages are good – there is no lack of confidence in the system.

The Prius’ suspension is set up for a comfortable ride, and it performs well. Around town, the sedan easily absorbed bumps and potholes. And on the highway, it easily drifts over the curb. Overall, tuning is on the “soft side” of things – load five adults into the cabin and its rear sags a bit. On a surprisingly positive note, however, the Prius handles corners better than expected if the driver manages the roll of the body and doesn’t go overboard with low rolling resistance tires. Driven correctly, it will slam into a bend pretty quickly (which would surprise most other vehicles stuck in its path).

As expected, the Prius offers exemplary fuel economy. Plus, it does so with a light curb weight of just 3,100 pounds (a Chevrolet Corvette sports car is about 500 pounds heavier), and extremely low aerodynamic drag (it has an extremely low drag coefficient of 0). ,24) and a super-efficient hybrid powertrain.

The EPA rates the Toyota Prius 2022 at 54 mpg in the city / 50 mpg on the highway, but my 1,000-mile mileage dropped a few percent when I drove fast at 75-80 mph on the road. highway and I used the throttle strongly when driving around town (since I didn’t try to “increase the smile”). On that note, my highway fuel economy averaged around 46 mpg on the open road, and my city fuel economy averaged around 51 mpg. According to the in-car computer, my overall daily performance (combined driving) averaged around 48 mpg – impressive!

More unusual is the actual cost of ownership. The well-equipped 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade FWD model I tested has an MSRP of just $31,056 (including a $1,025 delivery fee). Considering low fuel costs, low insurance rates, impressive reliability and high resale value, Toyota’s petrol-electric hybrid is one of the cheapest vehicles to run – not surprisingly it is The top choice of fleet and vehicle operators!

An all-new fifth-generation Prius may be coming shortly, but Toyota is unlikely to deviate from its winning formula. Consider that a good thing, because the budget sedan – the industry’s respected champion in fuel economy – isn’t leaving the podium any time soon.

The post Review Toyota Prius 2022: The standard fuel economy champion first appeared on NAZING written by Olivia Bradley

Buying a used Toyota Hilux with only 1000 km of driving: my first impressions

The Hilux is a metallic silver variant, High Automatic (top of the line). It was registered in May and has run a little over 1000 km. It was 2 months when I bought it. Get it for a great price considering its age and mileage to date. And I think the price will be affordable, no matter which one you like, the all-new ones, or the Hilux second hand.

I will do a quick review of the truck, and some data from Wapcar.my, which has driven more than 1000 km. Please note that I am primarily a sedan person and have very little experience with BOF vehicles. So all these points are in this view. I can’t compare it with Fortuner or any other BOF SUV for the same reason.

Exterior

The uterus looks tough, mean and indestructible from the outside. This car has excellent road presence and is sure to turn heads. Since the previous owner has equipped some accessories (I have listed similar ones below), the visual appeal is greatly improved. I like the “cool” factor associated with pickup trucks in general, and this one looks more distinctive. Build quality is excellent and tough – try opening the rear doors and hood and you’ll know what I’m talking about (get a good workout in case you don’t have time to hit the gym). 

Interior

Getting inside was a bit difficult, helped by handles (4 of them). That will make it difficult for the elderly. Once inside, you’ll be greeted by a rather modern and luxurious cabin (unless you like large touchscreens). The quality of the furniture and accessories is good and you will never feel uncomfortable. Plastic quality is good compared to the segment. Inside there are many storage compartments, with 2 cup holders near the vents for the driver and passenger. The upper glove box has a cooling function while the bottom one is lockable.

The front seats are very comfortable and you won’t have any problems on long journeys. Legroom is also great. The same cannot be said for the rear though. Given the size of this truck, rear legroom is limited. You sit more upright than you might call comfortable, so I’m not sure what the area would be like for longer rides. A nice point is the ability to raise the rear seat legs to store items. Toolboxes are located under these seats.

The ICE includes a touchscreen main unit that has all the usual connectivity options expected in modern vehicles. The sound quality is decent, but I might consider upgrading the speakers later.

The blue dashboard lighting at night is a nice touch. The same applies to the supply of AC charging sockets in the control box. I like the one-touch auto high-low feature right in the Rapid.

Engine

This car is powered by the same engine used in the Fortuner. One concern is DPF congestion. At about 2000 km, auto-regeneration begins, but nothing else after that. Toyota service personnel told me that these days these problems are less and that the original problems were caused by the adoption of new technology. The only problem they told me was to avoid frequent short-city trips and include more frequent freeway trips. It’s easy since the Hilux isn’t easy to navigate around town anyway.

Driving experience

Press the start button and there is a slight jerk when the engine is running. It soon settled into a quiet slow motion. On the move, the engine will feel refined as long as the revs are below 2000 rpm. Of course, you wouldn’t confuse this with anything other than diesel. Push past 2000rpm, then engine noise starts to come out. Though it sounds more explosive/busy than an industrial breakout. Not a very boring note.

I like the fact that, even in Eco mode, the box doesn’t shift gears too soon and doesn’t hesitate to shift gears. This is an issue I’m having with my Rapid, in D mode tend to shift very quickly and hesitate when shifting which is very annoying. This makes it easy to go fast in the city while still in Eco mode. I haven’t driven much in Power mode, but the performance is too good in this mode, a bit scary in a truck. I just wonder why is there no speedometer in mode D (it appears once in mode S)

Driving around town makes you feel like the “king of the road”. You overtake other cars, people let you pass, cars think twice before turning your car, etc. It’s a really great feeling, even though I’m not a street bully and I don’t unnecessarily preside over my surroundings. The only problem is that the horn looks more like a pipsqueak. Surprisingly in a car where the opposite is a villain. It reminds me of some movie villains that look tough and scary unless they start speaking in a childish voice.

Inside the city, the long size makes you feel uncomfortable, especially when you have to make a U-turn. Add to that the large turning radius that makes 3-point rotation the norm. I end up taking a longer path to the nearest roundabout to get around. Ride quality is expected of a BOF vehicle. It’s jerky/jerky/bouncy (as you might call it) and unless you’re on a flat stretch of road you’ll be aware of the pavement below. Sometimes there is also a side swinging motion.

The maneuverability is there again, as you would expect from a car. Slow and steady is the way to achieve this (imagine, I had an RS230 until last year, vice versa). Although things are not as bad as I thought. Let’s just say I expect it to behave like a ship, but it’s like a longboat. If that makes sense. Maybe I expected much worse.

The worrying aspect is the brakes, which in my opinion are not good enough to stop the car. Especially at high speed. I don’t know if that’s my experience with sedans, but I drive more carefully due to poor braking. Wind and road noise is also an issue as soon as you pass 100 km/h. Overall performance drops after this point.

Have any other Hilux owners here noticed the absence of the 80/120 km/h beep now found on all new cars?

Accessory:

I don’t know which of these were supplied by the dealer and which were installed by the previous owner. According to the accessory brochure provided by Toyota, these are the accessories currently being installed: front underbody guard, fender, fender, bed sheet, side visor, style bar, and wireless charging.

I am not reviewing any mods at this time. I’m usually slow to modify my car (the RS230 is still intact until the day I sell it!) and plan to use it for a while before considering modifying/adding an existing setup. The only thing I’m looking at is a cover for the charging bay, but I don’t see any options without removing the sleek bar. Can anyone give me ideas for the same?

I hope to update as often as possible

The post Buying a used Toyota Hilux with only 1000 km of driving: my first impressions first appeared on NAZING written by Olivia Bradley

A cooperative research project by Toyota and NREL will push forward fuel cell systems for stationary power generation

Wapcar automotive news – Toyota Motor North America (Toyota) is working with the US Department of Energy (NREL) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE) to build, install, and evaluate a fuel cell (MW) production system ) 1-megawatt proton exchange membrane (PEM)  at NREL’s Flatirons Campus in Arvada, Colorado. 

This 3-year $6.5 million partnership is funded in part by DOE’s Office of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology in the Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and supports the vision look at the DOE’s H2 in a wide range of economic and diverse applications industries. 

The 1 MW fuel cell system integrates multiple Toyota fuel cell modules into a larger system to provide static reactive power. Through a previous collaboration, NREL demonstrated the use of an automotive fuel cell system to deliver carbon-free energy to a data center. The new system is much larger in scale, generates about 15 times more power and is capable of generating both direct current and alternating current. 

Toyota has leveraged its more than 25 years of fuel cell development experience to design a 1MW system, expanding  the intensive market for light  fuel cell electric vehicles. Toyota is supplying the fuel cell modules and  working with the system integrator, Telios, to design, balance the system and build  the system for delivery to NREL. Toyota has developed an integrated control system to manage the operation of the fuel cell modules in order to maximize the efficiency and life of the system. The system has a simple design to be a direct replacement for conventional generators. 

To achieve carbon neutrality, we all need to explore new uses of zero-emission technology, including how this technology will integrate with other systems, which  project with NREL will identify, said Christopher Yang, who worked as Group Vice President, in charge of Business Development, Fuel Cell Solutions of Toyota. The application of our modules in deployments of this magnitude demonstrates the scalability of Toyota’s fuel cell technology, whether it is a single fuel cell module for a passenger vehicle. or multiple combined systems  to power heavy equipment. 

NREL researchers will push the operating boundaries of  fuel cell system design to identify performance limitations and degradation over time, generating data valuable in the world real to support future application development. Research and development will also include evaluating the system’s performance when integrated with energy storage and renewable energy generation systems, such as solar and wind. 

Mr. Daniel Leighton, P.Eng, NREL Research Fellow and Principal Investigator of the project, said that he and his team will study the scaling up of PEM fuel cell systems for static electricity generation to understand  the performance, endurance and system integration challenges. This fuel cell generator system also creates  new megawatt-scale fuel cell research capabilities at NREL. 

The fuel cell generator is part of the Research Advanced  Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) megawatt-scale hydrogen system being designed and operated at NREL’s Flatirons campus. The flexible system – consisting of a 1.25 MW PEM electrolyzer, a 600 kg hydrogen storage system and a 1 MW fuel cell generator – provides a platform to demonstrate direct production of renewable hydrogen, energy storage power generation, power generation and grid integration at the megawatt scale. 

The fuel cell generator system will be installed this summer and the complete system will be commissioned later in 2022. 

The post A cooperative research project by Toyota and NREL will push forward fuel cell systems for stationary power generation first appeared on NAZING written by Olivia Bradley