The Toyota Prius Hybrid Car: The Superstar of Hybrid Cars

Hybrid automobiles are simply amazing. They are basically vehicles, designed to be efficient with their use of gasoline, giving users the power to control their gasoline budgets, through the dual utilization of the standard combustion engine, coupled with the utilization of alternative power sources. The most common of hybrid automobiles utilize the combination between electric power and gasoline power, but are not limited to this combination alone.

Other hybrid cars boast the liquefied petroleum gas and combustion engine combination, while some boast hydrogen power coupled with the standard gasoline combustion engine combination. Bottom line, the concept of hybrid vehicles is that an alternative power class is present in them, supporting the standard combustion engine they come with.

Again, the most popular class of hybrid cars combines electric powered automobiles and standard gasoline powered combustion engines. They differ from dedicated electric vehicles, in the charge-distance aspect, as hybrid vehicles could charge their on-board rechargeable batteries by tapping into the vehicle's self same gasoline powered motor engine.

When talking about hybrid cars, the Toyota Prius Hybrid car stands to be the superstar hybrid car, and is quite famous for being what it simply is.

Basically the Toyota Prius Hybrid car stands to be one of the first of hybrid vehicles to go into mass production. It was introduced into the Japanese market in 1997, and went worldwide in 2001. In 2003 almost 160,000 Toyota Prius Hybrid cars have been sold in North America, Europe and in Japan. The Toyota Prius Hybrid car is also known for being award winning in its category, garnering the Car of the Year Japan in 1997-98. The Toyota Prius Hybrid car is also title holder for the European Car of the Year award in 2005, as well as the North American Car of the Year award in 2004.

As noted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Toyota Prius hybrid car is rated at 45 mpg-U.S. (5.23 L/100 Km / 54 mpg-imp) in highway running, and 48 mpg-U.S. (4.9 L/100 km / 57.5 mpg-imp) in city cruising. The UK Department of Transport ranks the Toyota Prius Hybrid car as the equal standing second to the MINI Cooper D Hatchback in the "Best on CO2 Rankings" scheme, with the Volkswagen Polo 1.4 TDI 80 PS following the two next.

With such figures, the Toyota Prius Hybrid car is noted as the most economical car available in the United States, thus its popular superstar status.

Should you be on the lookout for the best of hybrid cars, look towards the direction of the Toyota Prius Hybrid car. You'd be sure to be on the right track.