Toyota Avalon

Serene, luxurious, but not flashy. It succeeded so well in capturing that market that Buick is re-launching itself as an American performance brand. Toyota Avalon scared them well enough away. Before considering an Avalon, ask, do I enjoy turning corners vigorously? If yes, walk over to the Buick dealer and invest in a LaCrosse. The long and short is that it’ll be more rewarding to drive. If comfort trumps all, keep reading.
A JAPANESE SEDAN FOR THOSE WHO THINK BIGGER IS BETTER

Toyota Avalon The Avalon hasn’t changed its course much in its three generations. It's still mechanically based on a stretched Camry platform, with adequate power and loads of space. The current version, which had some minor updates in 2010, continues with that formula.

At nearly 200-inches long and 73-inches wide, the Avalon provides a big body to stuff people and cargo into, although at 14.4 cu. ft. the trunk isn’t as big as you might expect. Toyota Avalon Should you need space for longer items, however, the 60/40 split-folding rear seat accommodates those needs.

Those dimensions also allow for a large, roomy cabin with stretch-out room for five. The gauges are well organized and clear, and the Avalon has one of Toyota’s more well-laid-out dashboards.

Toyota Prius V gets lithium battery

When the 2012 Toyota Prius V goes on sale this April in Japan, customers will have an option not available to American buyers of the hybrid wagon. To wit, a family-friendlier version with 3rd row seating. The packaging feat is possible thanks to the smaller space needed for the lithium-based battery found in the Japanese upgrade. The same 7-seater configuration will also be made available to Europeans next year and was just revealed in Geneva under the Prius+ moniker.

There is, of course, a price to pay for the improvement and in this case that amount is 650,000 yen ($7,897.98 at today's exchange rates). If you happen to be in Japan and don't wish to shell out three million yen ($36,590) for your Prius maximus or need the extra seating, a cheaper version with the Toyota hybrid's traditional nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery chemistry will be offered for just 2.35 million yen ($28,660). This will also be the variant available in the U.S. this summer.

Toyota Prius 2012

The 2012 Toyota Prius is the best hybrid for you if you want to drive America’s highest-mileage car — and don’t want to worry about range or recharging.

The 2012 Toyota Prius will essentially be a carryover of the 2011 Toyota Prius. Colors and perhaps trim details are the only likely changes to a design that was all-new for model-year 2010.

The 2012 Prius will again rate more than 50 mpg in the city and some 48 mpg on the highway. It’ll go on sale about the same time the first mass-produced pure-electric and plug-in hybrids are hitting the road. But unlike them, the 2012 Prius won’t depend on external sources of electricity to deliver optimal performance or travel more than 100 miles.

Should you wait for the 2012 Toyota Prius or buy a 2011 Toyota Prius? Buy a 2011 Prius. The 2012 Prius isn’t going to be more fuel efficient or have better performance than the 2011, but it probably will cost more to purchase – especially if gas prices are painfully high when it comes out.

Toyota Prius Buying Advice Hybrid

Toyota has begun its limited feedback-harvesting lease program for the plug-in version of the Prius hybrid. We drove a representative prototype at Toyota's proving grounds in Japan. Some 150 will hit U.S. roads from this month, prior to it going on general sale in 2011 -- around the same time, of course, as the Chevy Volt.

One of the fascinating things about the eco-car revolution now upon us is the differences between competing technologies. So Toyota's conception of a plug-in gas car is a rather different proposition to GM's.

Toyota's is basically a Prius, but with a higher-capacity battery than the normal hybrid. You plug it in to an electrical outlet and, fully charged, it will go in electric mode for about 12 miles of gentle urban running. After that it switches back to the usual Prius hybrid powertrain where a blend of electric and gas power drives the wheels. The Volt, on the other hand, uses only its electric motor to drive the wheels, while the gas engine only supplies electricity to the motor after the battery is depleted.

Toyota Prius PHEV First Drive and Review

The hybrid's future has arrived, except it's frozen stuck in one of New England's more extreme winters.I don't mean literally stuck, like when our 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in trapped itself in an inch of snow. Rather, the cold weather served a back-to-earth reminder that gas-electric hybrids — and their brainy powertrain computers — simply have to keep the engine running.

The Prius Plug-in is one of three new "Prii" (Toyota's taking votes for an official plural) set to go on sale late this year and early next. The average Prius can't go more than a half-mile on electric power, but our decaled prototype claims a 13-mile battery range and fuel economy of nearly 100 mpg on short trips. Except it's January, and those numbers aren't going to happen.

Hybrid drivers living here should expect their stupendous mileage numbers to drop to more average levels in winter, since the coolant and catalytic converter have to be kept warm to maximize performance and minimize emissions. Low temperatures, inclines, and speeds over 60 mph all work against the Prius Plug-in. The Chevrolet Volt also forces its engine to run in cold weather, even with the batteries fully charged.

Toyota Prius Plug-in: A modest route to the electric

The 2012 Toyota Prius is the best hybrid for you if you want to get 50 mpg and don’t want to think about range or recharging -- and perhaps 70 mpg if you do.

The 2012 Toyota Prius will likely add a plug-in hybrid model, expanding its line to cover two of today’s top three alternative-fuel technologies. The plug-in Prius is due during calendar 2012, likely as an addition to the regular 2012 Prius lineup. Basically, it’ll have the ability to travel approximately 13 miles on electric power alone, versus much briefer durations and distances for the regular Prius. Both will continue to combine a gas engine with an electric motor wrapped in a highly aerodynamic five-passenger, four-door hatchback body. The plug-in Prius will join the 2011 Chevrolet Volt as the first mass-market gas-electric cars that tap the power grid for part of their energy, while the 2011 Nissan Leaf blazes a trail for the modern full-electric car.

Should you wait for the 2012 Toyota Prius or buy a 2011 Toyota Prius? Buy a 2011 Prius if you fancy the world’s most successful “conventional” hybrid. Wait for the 2012 Prius if you’ve an appetite for the latest gas-electric tech done the Toyota way.

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.

Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid - First Drive Review

Toyota showed off an expanded Prius lineup on Monday at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, revealing a larger-body-style Prius and a Prius concept. With the additional models, Prius now morphs into a "sub-brand," along the lines of Toyota's Scion youth brand.

The five-passenger 2012 Prius V offers 50 percent more cargo space than a conventional Prius and will go on sale in late summer, said Toyota. Pricing was not announced.

The Toyota Prius C concept previews a "value-oriented" hybrid bound for U.S. showrooms in 2012, said the Japanese automaker. Pricing was not announced.

The Prius V is said to stand for "versatility." Toyota said it shares the current-generation Prius' platform and Hybrid Synergy Drive technology. It is equipped with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, an electric motor and a nickel-metal hydride battery pack. The hybrid system's net horsepower is pegged at 134, said Toyota — identical to that in the conventional Prius. The Prius V will deliver an estimated 42 mpg in city driving and 38 mpg on the highway.