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| “The
Prius’s ability to deliver 5.6L/100km in city traffic stands
out”
Bill McKinnon, freelance
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It’s a fourth straight year at the
top of
the Best Fuel Economy category in the International Engine of
the Year Awards for Toyota with the 1.5-litre Hybrid Synergy
Drive unit. The result means
that Prius’s powertrain, which was voted International
Engine of the Year in 2004, has now garnered nine Awards.
The hybrid powerplant’s consistently strong performances
at the Awards
are due in no small measure to its wide
fanbase: 35 of the 62 judges awarded
it points, helping it finish 114 points clear of the second-placed
Honda Hybrid 1.3-litre IMA. Perhaps surprisingly, given its
sales success, the Prius was less popular with jurors in the
Americas than the BMW and Mercedes-Benz diesels that finished
fifth and sixth in the category. Instead, it was Prius’s
consistent level of popularity around the world that won through.
The anatomy of the Hybrid Synergy Drive is now familiar. The
1.5-litre petrol motor with 76bhp is engineered to run
on the Atkinson cycle, allowing the
compression and expansion strokes to
be independently set. An electric motor works in tandem with
the internal
combustion engine, providing 67bhp between 1,200rpm and 1,540rpm.
A healthy 400Nm of torque is also on
tap between zero and 1,200rpm. The combination propels the Prius
from
zero to 100km/h (62mph) in under
11 seconds while potentially sipping just 4.2 litres of fuel
per 100km (67mpg).
Prius II has become the best-selling hybrid car to date, with
500,000 of them now on the road around the globe. Toyota plans
to make 280,000 Prius IIs in 2007, forming the lion’s
share of its 430,000 annual total hybrid production target. |
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points |
| 1. Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) |
244 |
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| 2. Honda Hybrid 1.3-litre IMA (Civic) |
130 |
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| 3. Fiat-GM Diesel 1.3-litre (Panda, Grande
Punto, IDEA, Doblo, Lancia Ypsilon, Musa, Opel/Vauxhall Agila,
Corsa, Astra, Meriva, Tigra, Combo, Suzuki New Ignis) |
118 |
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| 4. Volkswagen 1.4-litre FSI (TSI) (VW Golf,
Touran, Jetta) |
111 |
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| 5. BMW Diesel 3-litre Twin Turbo (335d, 535d) |
90 |
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| 6. Mercedes-Benz Diesel 3-litre (C, E, S,
CLS, G, R, ML, GL, Chrysler 300C, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Commander) |
45 |
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