Shhh… it’s the PRIUS

PETER MYERS travelled to Japan to test-drive the 2010 Toyota Prius

Have you ever seen a Prius? I must admit I hadn’t. Perhaps that’s because I am especially unobservant, but it could be that Prii, to use an inaccurate plural, are so incredibly quiet and cruise along almost soundlessly, passing by like ghosts in the night.

You may have seen a Prius being blown up or shot at on UK motoring show Top Gear. Reviewing the car on their website, the petrol head team concedes, “There are some blindingly clever technologies in the Toyota Prius.” However, the show’s presenter Jeremy Clarkson isn’t a huge fan, calling the model: “Hateful lentil fuelled transport for the insufferably self righteous.”

This is a bit unfair to a car that has sustainable mobility as its unique selling point. Moreover, there are over 1.2 million people who, smugly or not, have so far bought into that by handing over at least US$22,000 for one (1.8 million have purchased a hybrid Toyota of one kind or another, contributing, says the company, to an approximated nine million tonne reduction in CO2 emissions). By 2010, Toyota is on track to relieve themselves of one million hybrid cars per year. Fuel efficiency tops the reasons why drivers love this vehicle; because it can start up and cruise on electric power alone, the latest Prius can achieve a fantastic 51 mpg in the city and 48 on the highway.

A group of journalists were invited to Japan to take a look see. Toyota wanted to show us where the complex car was developed (Nagoya; 2,000 people worked on it for 4.5 years) and where it could be whizzed about liberatingly (Hokkaido, which sports the best driving conditions in June).

Once there, we found a car that drives so smoothly that one could easily forget one is actually driving. (This was my excuse when I nudged a Prius into a row of traffic cones on a 5km racetrack, cracking its body a touch, during a slightly too speedy corner drift.) After starting the power train with the push of a large button, there is an eerie silence. A few seconds later, the engine quietly comes to life.

For the rest of my test drive, I stuck soberly to EV (electric vehicle) mode. Unique to the Prius, this battery only setting only lasts for a couple of miles before it reverts to Eco (the hybrid mode; there is also a power mode for acceleration purposes). Speed up too much (above about 40km/h), and the display will chide you thus: “EV Mode has been turned off due to excessive speed”. To keep speed firmly in mind, it is actually displayed, by reflection, in the lower part of the driver’s side windscreen.

The new Prius is chief engineer Akihito Otsuka’s baby. He’s particularly pleased with the car’s new 1.8 litre petrol engine (which match 2.4 litre cars’ acceleration performance), high output electric motor and nickel hydride battery (yes, the nickel is mined in Canada, but reducing the car’s total carbon footprint is, Toyota senior vice president Michinobu Sugata told me, “our next big challenge”). Aesthetically the new model looks much sharper, more defined and dynamic than V2, mathematically moulded with delicate concaves and convexes. Usefully, the boot is much roomier: I heaved four suitcases (and four golf bags in a separate attempt) into it without undue force.

The Prius then is a sensible sibling to irresponsible boy racers like me and the Top Gear chaps, who like nothing more than taking cars to their physical limits, as long as there’s a lack of speed cameras and a less than slight chance of slaying young children.

A major reason for our high fuel consumption is that many of us are terrible drivers. The Prius seeks to retrain us to drive in the most fuel efficient way. I am sold. Others may choose to wait to snag a plug in hybrid Prius, powered by lithium ion batteries, which should be ready for purchase by 2012.

Toyota, from 1896

Motoring buffs will have a field day in Nagoya. At the Toyota Kuragaike Commemorative Hall (www.toyota.co.jp and use keyword search) witness the chronology of the company, from founder Sakichi Toyoda’s invention of the Automatic Loom (1924), the subsequent development of domestic cars modelled on foreign vehicles (from 1936), the first completely domestic car 1955’s Toyopet, Crown Model, and myriad examples of more recent models. Widening its remit to the history of cars, the Toyota Automobile Museum (www.toyota.co.jp/Museum/) is also well worth a visit. Celebrating the 20th century’s love affair with four wheeled motors, hundreds of vehicles are lovingly displayed, from the late 1800s to present day. Also meet the trumpet playing robot.

TRAVEL HEALTH

How to avoid … swine flu

Swine influenza the current strain is identified as H1N1 is a disease found in pigs that is transmissible to humans. Frequent business travellers are at risk of contracting it, so CONNECT asked physician Dr Madeleine Chew for advice

HOW WORRIED SHOULD WE BE?
H1N1 has a higher mortality rate than the common flu disease. Take precautions like washing hands on a frequent basis and avoiding close contact with sick people. If you feel unwell, seek medical attention and don’t wait for the condition to blow over. Stay home if you are sick for seven days after your symptoms begin. More than 135 countries are now reporting cases of human infection. However, as per WHO recommendations, there are no travel restrictions.

HOW EFFECTIVE ARE FACEMASKS?
The surgical mask can lower the viral load but not prevent the virus from entering your respiratory system.

SHOULD BUSINESS TRAVELLERS AVOID MASS GATHERINGS?
Yes, if possible, as there is community spread and patients could harbour H1N1 even if they do not have fever.

WHAT ARE H1N1’S SYMPTOMS?
It can include a fever, cough, headache, weakness and fatigue, aching muscles and joints, sore throat and runny nose similar to normal flu symptoms. However, it is important to note the following recommendations: In children, warning signs that need urgent medical attention are: Breathing difficulties. Poor feeding or persistent vomiting. Drowsy or irritable. Symptoms improve but relapse with fever and cough.

In adults, warning signs include: Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Confusion. Severe vomiting. Symptoms improve but relapse with fever and cough.

WHICH GROUPS ARE AT HIGHER RISK?
Swine flu seems to affect the younger population. Adults older than 64 years do not appear to be at increased risk of H1N1 related complications thus far in the outbreak. Patients with existing medical conditions are also more likely to come down with complications of H1N1.

DO YOU THINK THAT SWINE FLU WILL BE WITH US FOR A YEAR OR MORE?
Yes. In fact, there is considerable concern that the Tamiflu resistant H1N1 virus may bring about more problems.

Dr Chew is the founder of MW Medical, which provides medical solutions primarily for Singapore’s aged population but also for visitors staying in the city state. The range of services include mobile doctors, nurses and therapists. MW Medical hotline: +65 6250 0625, www.mwmedical.com.sg