Following the second Earth Summit, John Brophy looks at one of the recent forays by the car industry into politically correct motoring, and why it failed to take off
Back in the heady days of the millennium, Toyota gave us a glimpse of the future, a future struggling with our disappearing supplies of fossil fuels. The Prius was, and still is, a remarkable hybrid car, with an engine designed to run on electricity, but with a seamless changeover to petrol when required.
I had marked it out to buy second-hand in a couple of years to keep my conscience clear, especially since the software to control the changeover had been written in Ireland. But then, something happened - or rather didn't happen. Very few people bought the Prius.
John Godkin, a retired electronic engineer, has followed developments all the way from "steam" radio to computers. The idea of an electric car was always close to his heart - a car which didn't pollute the environment or use fuel when stopped in traffic seemed logical and necessary.
Without intending it, John has become one of a very exclusive owners' club membership - as far as he knows only three Priuses were sold in his dealership.
Was the Prius ahead of its time? There is no greater sin in the history of motoring. Folklore students remember the Ford Edsel, which had a button gear-change on the steering wheel way back in 1954 - but the engineering didn't match the design.
In the Carroll and Kinsella dealership in Blackrock, Dublin, Ken Waller agrees that Ireland probably isn't quite ready for the Prius. It's still readily available in a choice of six colours, a truly green vehicle - even the brochure is printed on biodegradable paper.
It's a great pity that the Prius is a little small for taxi work. However, with the GPS map system, it certainly sounds like an ideal fleet car or light delivery vehicle.
As far as Godkin knows, there have been no problems with the Prius. Toyotas advertise themselves as the best-built cars in the world, and a look at the older taxis of Dublin confirms this. Some Corollas are still motoring away after half a million miles - and on our roads too.
With the Prius, the main factor appears to be price. The Government offered a rebate of £2,600, on the purchase price of £26,750, but that wasn't enough to make a difference. With the market as it was then, with everyone buying new, a factor such as fuel economy didn't seem to matter.
But fuel economy is one of the Prius's best points. Even on a long run such as Dublin to Cork, where the 1.5 litre petrol engine is in use most of the time, consumption is about 60 mpg.
Another point in the Prius's favour is security. Even if a thief gets into it, there's no way it can be hot-wired, and an immobiliser is standard.
John Godkin offered me the chance of a test drive, in the trying conditions of a wet evening. So, we motored about the Sandyford Industrial Estate, beside the old railway line soon to be a Luas, but which once featured Drumm battery trains.
Battery technology is central to the Prius concept. Most batteries, such as nickel cadmium, need to be fully discharged before they can be recharged, but the nickel metal hydroid battery can take charge and discharge at any time.
The battery, behind the rear seats, doesn't really affect boot space even though it operates at 240 volts. There is a 60/40 split in the rear seats, which makes the car as versatile as any hatchback.
The spare wheel is a temporary one.
Steering is power assisted and there is an automatic gearbox with the standard positions of park, reverse, neutral and drive - plus a brake position which gives engine braking for descending steep slopes.
With a column-mounted gear lever, there is plenty floor space. The parking brake is an American-style pedal, which fits where the clutch would be on other cars.
The speedometer is at eye level, but there is also a screen display which tells you whether you're running on petrol or battery. There is also an option for a GPS navigation system - the only optional feature - but it wasn't fitted in this particular model.
Braking is regenerative, meaning that the energy from the brakes recharges the battery. With discs all round, the brakes are very effective. It's an ABS system, with Electronic Brake force distribution.
It has dual airbags, air conditioning, headlight dip adjust, and speakers front and back. The sound system was for cassettes rather than CDs, but that's about the only quibble.
Certainly both wiper and demister worked very well and quietly.
Above all else, the Prius is a quiet car - this may even have proved a disadvantage. Get in, turn the key and press the pedal to the floor and your hear nothing. The vehicle runs on electricity not testosterone. Some sales people ruefully suggested that it should have had a recorded sound like a V8 dragster.
I found the Prius quite responsive, with good visibility and neat cornering. There was a prior prejudice that any car with all the extra equipment would be heavy and sluggish, but I didn't find it so in suburban conditions.
Godkin puts top speed at about 70 mph, which happens to be the legal limit, but the Prius scores more for sanity and economy than for racetrack performance. The official figures say 100 mph is available and 0 60 mph in 13.4 seconds.
The car has proved a great talking point, according to John Godkin. "No, you don't have to plug it in at night" is an answer frequently needed.
He was just getting ready for first maintenance at 9,000 miles, which is much the same as with any other car, except that the fluids need to be changed.
Quite simply, the car itself is a winner, but bad timing and price structure have told against it. Nonetheless, over five years, especially for a city commuter, it would prove a good proposition. As it is, it's economical, environmentally very friendly and, unexpectedly, exclusive.
If only the imagination and quality of the car had been matched by tax policy. Still, it's never too late.