In Europa este destul de putin cunoscuta, iar in Romania aproape deloc. Din cauza ca informatiile disponibile(la indemana) se gasesc in cantitati mari in limba engleza iar pentru traducere ar lua foarte mult timp, le voi posta asa, cu riscul sa fiu criticat de persoanele care ar fi interesate sa afle mai multe, dar necunoscand bine limba.
Poate unii vor zice: "pai pe cine mai intereseaza o masina care nici macar nu se mai produce si deci nu o va vrea nimeni in garaj?". Dar cum se spunea undeva ca e bine sa cunoastem si ceva din istorie, ei bine, acesta masina a facut istorie.
Sunt sigur ca va avea parte de multe comentarii critice, nu-i nimic, si generatia II se bucura de asta.
The hybrid-electric car is, we think, the wave of the future. As the limitations of electric cars became clear - limited range, heavy batteries, recharging, and the blatant inefficiency of using power-line related energy loss - the advantages of the hybrids started to show. No need to plug in; lighter batteries; and the efficiency of creating energy on the spot, combined with the electric-car advantages of regenerative braking and coasting, and the emissions-reducing potential to have engines that stay at a single speed for relatively long periods of time. The Toyota Prius is the car of the future, available from Toyota dealers today - or, if you live in Japan, since late 1997. With an interior roughly the size of a Toyota Camry or Honda Civic, the Prius achieves an amazing 55 mpg in the city - about 42 on the highway. No, we didn't reverse those numbers - the Prius is built for stop-and-go city and suburban traffic, and the slower you go, the higher your mileage. City mileage is also greatly helped by the fact that, unlike "normal" cars, the Toyota Prius regains some of your energy when you stop, taking what would normally just be heat (and worn brake pads) and converting it back into electricity. City roads also tend to have fewer hills. 
Actually, gas mileage varies dramatically based on your driving. If you are easy on the gas and drive with slow, steady acceleration, you will do much better. If you tend to do a lot of stoplight racing and drive at over 75 mph on the freeway, you will do much worse. Likewise, since the engine seems to get about 10 mpg less when cold (since the gas engine is always running until it warms up), if you live in the North and do a lot of small trips, gas mileage will be relatively poor. Summer mileage is, we expect, substantially higher than winter mileage, because the engine needs to run less to operate the heater and keep the catalyst at operating temperature. Tire pressure also seems to be an important factor - keep pressure at the recommended level, which we believe is 35 psi.
Likewise, city police could easily switch over to cars like the Prius. New York City cops used low-performance six cylinder engines for many years to get better gas mileage, knowing that (a) they were capable of any speed you can reach in the city, and (
the police have a thing called radio. The applications for delivery people are enormous - local pharmacies and couriers could make great use of these cars. Indeed, the last electric truck in New York City was a UPS truck, and it was only taken out of service because parts were no longer available. Package delivery firms are again looking at electric and hybrid powertrains, since they can recover most of the energy ordinary trucks lose in stop-and-go traffic.
Sound reduction was mainly a matter of design, rather than heavy insulation. That makes the Prius much lighter than the aforementioned Stratus, while maintaining a quiet interior. The engine doesn't make much noise most of the time - when on electric mode, it is silent - and wind noise seems to have been cut back through aerodynamics. Overall, the interior feels to be about as quiet as a Camry, though when at 4,500 rpm the engine is fairly loud. Most of the time, drivers will not be calling for that much power; and the engineers may have deliberately let the engine be noisy at maximum revs to remind drivers of the consequences for fuel economy.
The climate control system is easy to use and figure out, with a simple dial control to set the temperature (which is thermostatically controlled) and fan speed (which can be set to "Auto" to best maintain the temperature). We wish all cars had controls this easy to use, rather than the inane systems inflicted on us by most automakers. Heat came fairly quickly; we did not have the opportunity to test air conditioning, but we don't expect much based on other Toyotas. When the heat is on maximum, an electric heater kicks in as well.
It takes a moment after turning the key for the engine to start. The gas engine on our model always started, even when the engine was warm, but others report that sometimes they can start out on full-electric mode.
Ten years after the introduction of the first mass produced gas-electric hybrid, the Toyota Prius is now the icon of the green vehicle movement. In late 1997, the Prius went on sale in Japan after overcoming considerable technological, engineering, and developmental challenges. It hasn’t stopped to catch its breath since.
When in late 1997 Toyota sold its first generation Prius Hybrid, it released it only on the local Japanese market. Despite the millions of dollars invested in research and development, it seems the Series 1 Prius was a marketing and performance experiment.
The Series 1 Prius introduced the Toyota Hybrid System (THS) which incorporates an electric motor and petrol engine. Put simply, the electric motor is used for light load conditions and the petrol engine is employed only when extra power is necessary. The electric motor generates 30kW from 940 to 2000 rpm and works hand-in-hand with a 288 volt Nickel-Metal Hydride battery pack (comprising a total of 240 individual D-cell batteries). Battery charge is maintained by a regenerative braking system and, where necessary, the petrol engine can provide direct charging.
The Echo-based 1NX-FXE petrol engine in the Prius employs the Atkinson-cycle to optimise efficiency. The Atkinson-cycle keeps the engine?s exhaust valves closed until the end of the expansion stroke. With a swept capacity of 1.5 litres, a 13.5:1 compression ratio, DOHC, 16 valves and variable inlet cam timing, the Prius? petrol engine can generate 43kW and 102Nm ? both achieved at 4000 rpm. 
Based on a unique chassis, the Prius offers generous front headroom with adequate legroom and cabin width. Rear seat passengers benefit from a relatively high roofline delivering abundant headroom and good space in all other sprawling directions. The boot is also large, but these early Prius carry a bulky battery pack parked behind the rear seat that eats into boot space. 
Other interior features include climate control, power windows, a 4 speaker tuner/cassette system (optional CD), remote central locking and twin airbags. In short, it?s got everything to keep you comfortable and safe. 
The biggest improvement was the availability of greater power and torque from the 1NX-FXE petrol engine. The compression ratio was lowered slightly to 13.0:1 and inlet cam timing was altered to help yield an extra 10kW and 13Nm - 53kW at 4500 rpm and 115Nm at 4200 rpm. The THS electric motor was also upgraded to 33kW from 1040 to 5600 rpm. 
The most obvious exterior changes are the fitment of polished alloy wheels with 175/65 tyres and a front and rear spoiler. Vehicles delivered to Australia were equipped with disc rear brakes, but those sent to the US carry over rear drums. 
It appears there were minor trim fabric changes, but the interior remained virtually identical - though the centre part of the dash had a minor restyle which included the fitment of English language buttons and switchgear. The navigation system was also revised to suit the country of destination and the LCD became a touchscreen. Oh, and boot space was improved thanks to a much more compact hybrid system battery pack (as seen between the suspension towers in the above photo).
