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IS it a
bird? No, but it can fly like a bird.
Is it a
cat? No, but it can purr like a cat.
Is it a
dog? No, but it can bite like a dog.
What is
it, then?
It’s a
car, a real car, except that it’s not your
run-of-the-mill car. No, it’s not the one used in space,
or in the moon for that matter. It’s for our everyday
use like the car used by your neighbor, except that this
one has an engine that stops every now and then without
you switching off the ignition key while you are on your
way to the office and back.
Okay, to
be sure, it drives like a car.
It runs
like a car.
It looks
like a car.
But it
doesn’t roar like a car; it hums.
So, what
is it then?
It’s a
hybrid car—the Prius from
Toyota.
Rolled
out in 1997 to become the first hybrid car sold
commercially in the US market, the Prius is finally in
town.
I had
driven it. And it gave me the usual thrill.
I say
“usual” because I had driven it already. The first time
was in 2001, on the streets of
Tokyo during a break of the Tokyo Motor Show—thanks to Toyota
Motor Philippines Inc.
Since
then, I was given the golden opportunity to drive it
almost every time I was invited to visit the Tokyo Motor
Show—the last time was in November 2007.
Oh, my,
not only did I drive the Prius again in Japan, but I
drove other Toyota hybrid brands, to include the Lexus,
Camry, Estima (Previa) and versions of the Land Cruiser
(Highlander/Kluger, Harrier), Crown and Alphard.
My,
they’ve improved by leaps and bounds. Whereas before,
the Prius wasn’t that fast off the block, the new breed
has become a speed freak and mightily powerful!
So, when
Elijah Sue Marcial and Ana Agregado combined talents to
surprise me with the Prius a while back, I was, again,
thrilled to the max. It’s not every day that you can hop
behind the wheel of such an automotive wonder like the
hybrid.
What is
a hybrid car again?
First
off, a hybrid car has three major components: battery,
electric motor and engine.
Its
movement is broken into four:
Start-up.
Only the electric motor is used for start-up and low to
midrange speeds. (No gas needed.)
Normal. When
cruising, the engine and motor both drive the wheels as
the engine power is split between the wheels and an
electric generator, which, in turn, drives the motor.
Power allocation is controlled to maximize efficiency.
As necessary, the generator also recharges the battery
from surplus engine power.
Hard
acceleration.
The battery supplies additional energy to boost drive
power, while the engine and motor provide smooth
acceleration response.
Deceleration/braking.
The high-output motor acts as a high-output generator,
driven by the car’s wheels. This “regenerative braking
system” recovers kinetic energy as electrical energy,
which is stored in the high-performance battery.
 So,
to summarize, at car’s start-up, what’s in use is the
electric motor only.
At
normal driving, motor and engine only.
At
acceleration, motor and engine (with additional power
drawn from batteries).
At
deceleration, the battery charges.
When
your car is at rest, engine and motor will automatically
shut off, thus, no fuel is wasted at all.
When
restarting again as you step on the power pedal (the
other is the brake pedal), only the electric motor is in
use again.
Thus,
the hybrid doesn’t use that much fuel since the gas-fed
engine isn’t at work all the time. There is no power
wasted as even the friction created when braking is
transformed into power thrown into the battery.
The
Prius I had driven consumed only 1 liter per 33 km.
My Prius
(five-seater) was a “mere” 1.5-liter but, mind you, it
had the pulling power of a 3.0-liter. It sped like a
gazelle in full steam, if not a puma, in that it can
compete with any car of any make on the freeway.
I fell
in love with the car and I tried ordering one from
Elijahwon, the Big E of the local motoring world.
“Sorry,
Sir, but it’s not yet for sale in the Philippines,” the
Big E said. “We have yet to start training expert
mechanics for hybrid-car customers. Wait ka lang, Sir,
and the moment Sir John [Danny Isla, a Toyota top gun,
no less] gives us the green light to start accepting
orders for the Prius [P2.1 million with tax], you’ll be
No. 1 on our list.”
I have
started cutting back on my beer, if not wine, intake.
The savings I can generate from this move might yet
produce me a budget for the Prius when the time comes.
Wait
ka lang, Big E. |
