TEST DRIVE: Inhabitat Takes the New Plug-in Prius For an Extended Drive

When Inhabitat was offered the chance to take a pre-production prototype of the new plug-in <a title="Toyota: Prius" href="http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/" target="_blank">Prius</a> for a week-long test drive, we jumped at the opportunity! The <a title="Inhabitat: plug-in hybrid" href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=plug-in+hybrid" target="_blank">plug-in hybrid</a> model adds a charging option to the already popular Prius, which is rumored to make it half as thirsty as its non-plug-in predecessors. So, how did the plug-in Prius hold up to a week of our demands? Read on or click through our gallery to see the results of our test drive.

The most important thing we discovered while driving the plug-in Prius was that it is clearly designed for stop-and-go city driving. When we took it from stoplight to stoplight, gradual braking could put as much as a third of a mile back on the estimated battery range indicator, which means that going across town block by block could tame your road rage by taking you almost infinitely farther than the original 13-mile <a title="Inhabitat: electric vehicle" href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=electric+vehicle" target="_blank">EV</a> range. At over speeds of 60 miles per hour, however, the car switched to gas power and felt a bit underpowered. The Prius has an indicator on the dash to tell you when you're in EV mode or "Eco" mode, and any time you push down the gas pedal for quicker acceleration, the lights speed to the right end of the Eco indicator marked "Power." As in, slow down, Lead Foot, you're ruining your gas mileage. The only problem is, this is required to get up to highway speeds or accelerate at a reasonable pace in faster traffic. So, we stuck to back roads after a while to keep from angering the little <a title="Inhabitat: hybrid" href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=hybrid" target="_blank">hybrid</a> too much.

From the rear, the plug-in Prius looks like any other Prius. It's when you view it from the side that the badging won't let you get away without the knowledge that this Prius is different.

The front of the Prius shares the same aerodynamic shape with previous generation Priuses, and the new Chevy Volt.

We took our Prius tester to a nearby lake, to see how it handled country roads at 50 miles per hour. The results? It wanted to go 45 unless we really hit the gas, and the battery quickly ran down from the cruising without regular braking.

The rear hatch in the Prius is every bit as great as the one in the Chevy Volt. Both have plenty of space for loading everyday items, and a convenient height for storing stuff without having to bend down or reach in to retrieve them.

Unlike the Volt, which stores its electric charging cord under the hatch floor, the Prius stores it in a reusable shopping bag. A slightly less elegant solution, but perfectly utilitarian.

We like Toyota's new angled headlights for the Prius. If only more of the car could retain more unique design elements. Without the badging, the new Prius wouldn't stand out any more than a Yaris in traffic.

Unlike the Volt, which has a button to pop the fuel door and the charger cap on the door, the Prius simplifies things by allowing you to open the caps with the touch of a finger. No buttons required.

The cockpit of the plug-in Prius has a two-level center console, which we like for storing charging phones and other gear on the go. Other than that gear shifter, most of the design inside the car is unremarkable.

The one-color display on the dashboard shows the driver fuel levels, speed, an odometer, and what's going on with the EV or "Eco" modes of the hybrid system.

It's clear when you're driving in EV mode, but after switching to "Eco" mode, things get murky as to what they hybrid system is up to. The indicator maxes out when you hit the gas but otherwise leaves you to drive the car in engine mode without much nannying.

The left side of the dash display shows miles per gallon as maxed out at 100 when in EV mode, at 0 when you're stopped, but fluctuates too quickly between numbers the rest of the time to get any real idea of your average mileage. This is called a real-time mileage indicator, instead of an average estimate.

Air conditioning controls are simple and easy to reach. The heated seat buttons are inexplicably located on the lower level of the center console, though, next to the phone jack.

The gear shifter takes a little getting used to but is a lot of fun. It is electronic, and you just flick it in the direction of the gear you want. Just so you don't get confused, the Prius beeps incessantly like a garbage truck when you're in reverse.

Park is selected with a push button to the left of the gear lever. This makes turning off your Prius a lot of fun. Touch Park, then touch the Power button, and you're done.

The Prius has a now-standard push-button start power button where the ignition should be.

The navigation screen of the Prius is significantly more sophisticated than its dashboard display, with audio touchscreen and navigation in one full-color package.

Scanning between stations takes a bit of tapping on the Track button, but once you have your favorites programmed, it's very easy to select them with a touch of the screen.

The navigation system in the Prius is a little easier to use than the one in the Volt, and gives you several directions to look at at once, so you know what's coming up. It is a bit of a nanny, though, blanking out any entry options when the car is moving.

The Prius steering wheel has standard cruise control and media options.

The charging cap and gas cap are located on the same side of the vehicle, which would make it convenient to remember to park on the same side of a fueling station all the time, regardless of type.

Not-so-subtle badging sets the plug-in Prius apart from its simple brethren.

In case you missed it, here's badge number 2. Good for bragging rights in the Whole Foods parking lot.

Standard Prius Hybrid badging is all that's visible from the back.

The Prius plug-in version promises to be half as thirsty as its non-plug-in cousins, but that depends heavily on where you drive it. You will be happiest with a Prius in city conditions. A full charge only takes 5 hours on a standard outlet, so the vehicle is fairly convenient for a daily driver.