Toyota is very proud of its latest Prius hybrid and it's winning customers in a way that its predecessor never did.
Maybe the electric/petrol combination gives some of us the notion that it's not for us, more for dedicated environmentalists or, as one Toyota executive put it, "sandal-wearing eco freaks down from the trees."
We were at a disused airfield on the French-Belgian border, driving a version of the Prius that's unlikely to be built. The Prius GT is meant to make another big statement about the whole hybrid business.
"The GT shows that you can have lively performance, even motor sport excitement if necessary," says Toyota's chief hybrid engineer, Katsuhiko Hirose. "Hybrid technology is very flexible and we engineers are not really constrained."
Driving it on the small half-mile circuit produced far more tyre squeal than engine roar. It swept through the corners remarkably well with little or no body roll.
Circuit driving isn't natural for any kind of Prius: the battery is under pressure with not enough part-throttle activity for charging. It also felt like a real lightweight: weight has been reduced by nearly 200kg through replacing the normal interior with just two racing seats. There's a stiffened and lowered suspension while the tyres are those which go on an everyday Avensis.
Up front Prius GT uses a hotter derivative of the 1.5 litre engine which goes into the Yaris T Sport delivering 100bhp at 6,500rpm. Its 0-62mph time is 8.7 seconds, more than two seconds faster than the standard car.
Toyota claims the same fuel consumption in the combined cycle, at 65.7mpg. On the electrical side, voltage has been boosted from 500 to 550, a far cry from the original Prius which had a 274 voltage.
The Prius GT may not be going anywhere but a newcomer from Toyota's upmarket Lexus sibling certainly is - the forthcoming RX400h will have a 3.3 litre petrol engine plus two electric motors. It's dubbed by Toyota as the world's first performance hybrid with fuel consumption equivalent to a four-cylinder family car. It should be on sale here in the earlier part of 2005.
Meantime, the regular Prius Mark II is greatly outpacing its frumpy predecessor. Production is running at 120,000 cars a year. Toyota here reports over 170 registrations and expects 350 next year. The previous model sold just 40 over its entire life. The new Prius retails at €28,500 which includes a 50 per cent VRT rebate. Ireland is one of 17 EU countries giving it fiscal incentives.