Driving my hybrid "sleigh"

MANILA, Philippines - “‘Tis the season to be jolly” – is a common reference to the year-end Holidays. And yet, it appears that the Christmas season evokes bittersweet feelings among the country’s motorists, as malls begin to transform into shoppers’ battlegrounds with parking slots to fight over, like spoils of war, and as almost every thoroughfare in the city – no matter how obscure – begins to role-play as a mobile parking lot! Aaah, yes... Ang Paskong Pinoy: every child’s favorite season and – dare I say – every Filipino motorist’s curse.

Frankly, if you can’t beat it... you deal with it! It’s that time of the year when you pull all those tricks you have, down your sleeve. And for me, this year’s secret weapon to brave the metro’s crazy streets came as a surprise... it came as a cool, slick, hybrid car called the Toyota Prius.

This was not something I had carefully planned. I consider it really more of a fluke that I happened to get the opportunity to test drive this ultra-modern, green piece of technology around my busiest week of December – the time when I had party after party to attend, every single day of the week! It did not help that the shopping malls were open until midnight over the weekend... it kept EDSA and C5 saturated with a plethora of crazy, restless motorists who were all tested for their patience to endure bumper after bumper of opportunistic travelers. The idea of how much money was to be blown off in wasted gas was absolutely disheartening.

Nevertheless, I found that the Prius was my perfect weapon. Being a gasoline-electric hybrid, this set of wheels boasted stellar fuel economy. It had a 1.8L gasoline engine that worked in conjunction with two electric motors and a special planetary gearset that functioned as a CVT (continuously variable transmission). I found that the vehicle would usually run on battery power (and therefore not spend any gas) when I traveled at speeds of less than 30kph. Above that, the gasoline engine would kick in, and both power sources would work together to provide that needed power. Alongside this, the gas engine would also slowly re-charge the battery. This system allowed unparalleled fuel efficiency, which was perfect for surviving the daily crawl. Honestly, no other time could have been more perfect to drive such a gas-frugal vehicle.

The Prius also had switches for three different drive modes: Power Mode, Eco Mode and EV (Electric Vehicle) mode. As you may have already guessed, switching to the power mode gave you the flexibility to drive with the gas engine engaged, to provide that extra oomph; while using the Eco mode had the car programmed to grab every opportunity to go on electric mode; and the EV mode used solely the battery power, provided that your battery had enough charge to it.

On top of all this, what I also found brilliant was how the regenerative braking system salvaged more energy by converting energy that is normally lost as heat, into energy to charge the car’s battery. Say for example, when you go free-wheeling downhill – the car will capture some of this energy and use it to charge up your battery. And I have to mention that all these systems at work are displayed to the driver in a really cool graphical interface high up on the dash. As a matter of fact, watching these inner workings of the car kept me entertained while going through otherwise boring, slow-moving traffic.

Beyond its amazing gas frugality, another characteristic of the Prius that I found perfect for my Holiday adventures was its impressive space. Its hatchback design allowed for a lot of luggage to fit in – perfect for my Christmas gifts and take-home raffle prizes! Its backseat was also amazingly commodious, it could fit in the rest of my family members comfortably, as we went around town to attend Christmas parties.

There are so many more aspects to the Prius that make it one of my all-time favorite cars, but these are the characteristics that were highlighted and deemed extremely useful this Holiday Season. I am extremely thankful that I finally got to test drive this car and that the timing could not have been better – plus it always helps that you’re doing mother earth a favor, whenever you reduce your carbon footprint. Cheers to the 3rd generation Toyota Prius! This is definitely my electric sleigh… in style.