I recently drove 2010 third generation Prius for a week. Here’s what impressed me.

50MPG

That’s what Toyota claims and I managed to get 47MPG even with the way I drive -like being the first guy taking off from the traffic light - that’s impressive. Prius is the most fuel-efficient car in America. That’s cool.

Is this the car going to save us?

I have been a skeptic of Prius. I didn’t quite get the point. What is it for? Is this the car to save us from global warming? Or is it just another gadget to get the more fuel efficiency? If it’s all about going green then why not jump to electric? If it’s about going for better fuel efficiency, is hybrid the only way?

Clearly I was confused…

No matter what I thought, Toyota Prius has been a huge success in California. In the small town where I live, Pasadena (in the outskirts of Los Angeles, California), Prius is the single most popular car followed by Audi A4 and Mercedes C class. On any given day I can easily spot multiple number of Prius in parking lots around my town. Coffee shops around the corner, organic food super markets, restaurants and post offices…you name the place, Prius is there.

In less than two model generations, Prius has become the name in hybrid cars and started the hybrid car war.

I wonder why?

Here in California where Toyota sells most of Prius in US, it has become a symbol of environmental friendliness. Prius stands for green in California. College professors, doctors, lawyers, and movie stars drive Prius. It is the car to be seen in if you want people know that you care about the environment. So how can one car really become a symbol of green then?

Prius benefitted the most from anti SUV mood in California.

In this town you are what you drive. California is known for its larger than life Hollywood inspired life-style. For some time a black Cadillac Escalade with 22-inch spinner chrome wheels was the choice of hip-hop artists and professional athletes sending out the a message of bling-bling and glitz. Oddly enough it inspired the housewives the most. Moms started driving behemoth SUVs to take kids to school and soccer practice. It was simply crazy seeing huge SUVs lining up at school to pick up kids every afternoon.

Then things changed. In the last few years social and cultural moods in California shifted rapidly. The downfall of the economy accompanied by soaring gas prices forced people to look for alternatives to their big SUVs. Meanwhile, awareness of environmental issues also grew. Recycling bins were finally popping up here and there! The topic of ‘Global Warming’ became a part of water-cooler chats at the work place.

Californians were in search of a car that tells the world that they are no longer indifferent to environmental issues. They were waiting for a car that could wash their guilty conscience of environmental indifference, a car that would compensate for all their environmental wrong-doings. Cars that can make them LOOK intelligent, gentle, caring and environmentally responsible person, well on the outside at least. Is there such a car?

Yes, Prius. It has a hybrid engine that combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor. It pollutes less and gets good gas mileage.

Wait a second, all that technology for that? There are other cars can almost match or do better mileage than Prius brags about. VW TDI Jetta can do 56MPG and that’s better than Prius, regular gasoline engine cars like Honda Fit does 38MPG and it’s several thousand dollars cheaper that Prius. Mini can do 38MPG and even 1989 Honda CRX did 56MPG!!! How about other cars like Ford Focus PZEV? Its carbon footprint is more-or-less equal to Prius. So what’s the big deal?

What is Prius’s green factor?

How can someone, aka Toyota, come out with a car that really doesn’t solve anything and still becomes a popular car proclaiming it is going to save the world? Why in the world would Toyota do that? How did they convince people to buy a car believing that they are doing the right thing?

The answer is in the design.

Prius looks different! It has a monoform profile that reminded me of typical 90’s Art Center Trans students sketch exercises on future cars. Swooping lines that start from the hood and flow to the A-pillar give the impression that the engine room is so small it makes you wonder about what’s inside. The front end design – small grill opening (highlighting the absence of an internal combustion engine) and headlights that express little… kind of a robotic, non-animated look – gives Prius a very different impression. It has its own look.

No one knew what hybrid cars should look like…going hybrid was all about adding a battery to an engine. All they had to do was jam a battery pack in it. So why does it even need to look different?

Toyota knew that people wanted a different look from a car that has a different powertrain inside. Hybrid cars should look different from a gasoline engine car. Smooth side surfaces with minimum sculpting, a long wheelbase matched with reasonable sized wheels, gives the impression of a longer interior space. Its extended side window graphic – with small extra windows in front and rear - helps create a friendly and roomier cabin. Designer’s intentions here seem aimed at creating the so-called machine-minimum man-maximum look.

All these design features help Prius to develop its own ‘Hybrid Look’. No wonder Honda’s new Insight and GM’s ‘Volt’ share similar outlines and details.

Prius wrote the textbook on hybrid car design.

So how about the new Prius?

It’s an improved version of last generation. Now finally it’s got a face that you can recognize. It is no longer has a mechanical robotic look, it is more animated by having more pronounced nose and headlights that have a more distinctive shape. Toyota knows that they are the ones who came up with the look and they should hold on to it while uplifting here and there. Prius is by no means THE answer to reducing one’s automotive carbon footprint. To resolve, or at least to have a measurable impact, cars need to be completely emission free. There shouldn’t be anything coming out of the tail pipe. It sounds like an electric car, doesn’t it? So far that seems to be the answer, but Prius is here until we can get other things, such as such as hydrogen fuel cell or even air powered cars, to work. At least Prius is the best at saving you from a green anxiety attack in a distinctive visual way.

Are you worried about your carbon footprint yet you really don’t know what to do? Or don’t really want to change your life style? Then why not drive a car that makes you an entry-level green activist. Buying a Prius can lead to a thumbs up from your socially and environmentally conscious friends at the workplace while getting really good gas mileage. That’s not a bad deal, but where’s the car that can save us?

By the way, if you really want to shrink your carbon footprint, then you should really change the way you live. Use public transportation, walk and ride a bike.