Toyota Prius Review and Prices

Back in the waning years of the previous millennium, the Toyota Prius was born, becoming the first Toyota hybrid. Since then, of course, many other Toyota and Lexus hybrids have hit the roads, as have many from nearly every other automaker. But it’s the Prius—thanks to distinct (if unsexy) styling and industry-leading fuel economy—that remains the unofficial greenmobile for Toyota and the world.
Naturally, then, the Prius is set to become the first Toyota to make the next big leap in fuel efficiency for 2012 by going plug-in with the new Prius PHV, or “plug-in hybrid vehicle.” And since 2012 is a long way off—in our impatient minds, at least—we jumped at the chance to drive one of the 150 powder-blue preproduction Prius PHVs bound for the U.S. in 2010. All are part of Toyota’s Prius PHV pilot program that places these vehicles with various utilities and government agencies to gather data on vehicle performance.