Toyota PriusC Bonza Test Weekend

I’ve always wondered what it’s like to drive one of those eco-friendly hybrid golf-carts cars which have become the butt of many a petrol-head joke. Does it really drive like a golf-cart? Will it be pedestrian in power and speed delivery? Well, last weekend, I had my questions answered via an extended test-drive of the Toyota Prius C provided courtesy of NBT Brunei.

The Toyota Prius C (c stands for “city”) is a full hybrid gasoline-electric subcompact hatchback produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. The Prius c is the third member of the Prius family, and combines the features of a Yaris-sized car with a hybrid powertrain. The Prius c is priced lower than the conventional Prius and has a higher fuel economy in city driving under United States Environmental Protection Agency test cycles. The Prius C is ranked by the EPA as the 2012 most fuel efficient compact car when plug-in electric vehicles are excluded.

The colour display which cycles to indicate all sorts of information

Roof view

So back to the test-drive, I took delivery of the car on Saturday morning and spent a good 5 minutes figuring out how to start the darned thing. Turns out, all you have to do is step on the brakes and press the power button. Don’t expect any conventional engine starting sounds as all you will hear is… silence. If it wasn’t for the colour display indicating the car is ready, you would have no clue.

Pulling out of the NBT office, the car definitely felt like a golf cart! The distinctive whirr of the electic motor propelling the car into motion. By the time I exited the junction into Jalan Gadong, the 1.5 litre engine sprang to life and then it sounded like a regular engine. Time for a road-trip!

Initially, the plan was to drive up and down KB to see how long the tank would last. But after the first round, we were so road weary we decided to call it quits after looking at the petrol indicator which used up barely one bar! I am told it would cost less than a dollar to drive to KB and back! Unfortunately, the fact that we were so road weary after one trip says that this car is more of a city car, i.e. for short trips from A to B rather than long distance journeys.