T - 10 months

Today I signed the contract for our new car. Now the waiting time begins. If all goes well, we’ll receive the Toyota Prius in February 2005.

I saw the Prius 2 months ago at a car show and liked the technical data. It’s a hybrid car with two engines: a regular gas-engine and an electrical engine. Computers contol how the engines work together. The gas engine is used to recharge the batteries and to help the electrical engine when more power is needed.

Two weeks ago, we took the Prius out for a test-drive. It feels disappointingly unspectacular. It handles like a normal car, accelerates / brakes like normal. It’s not the worlds most beautiful car, it’s not the biggest, not the fastest… But for driving in the city (and that’s where we spend > 60% of our driving time) it’s perfect. With very low CO2 pollution and an average of 4.2 l / 100km (56 mpg), reasonable sized it seems to be the perfect car for us.

Plus - it’s the car for the geek! Voice activated navigation system, bluetooth enabled (for the cell phone), 7" TFT touch screen – heaven ;-)