A Pioneer For Future Technology: A Brief History Of The Toyota Prius – SlashGear

The Prius as a concept has been around since 1993, but the first production version came about in 1997 for the Japanese market and in 2001 for the United States. It looked a lot like the Toyota Echo from the era and not too much like the rolling dentist’s office that receives most of the ribbing today. Even in its first iteration, the Prius achieved impressive fuel economy at an EPA-estimated 41 combined miles per gallon. A Car and Driver review from 2001 estimated the Prius to have a zero to 60 time of a solid 13 seconds, only a bit faster than something like a Zastava Yugo. The only speedy way it could complete the quarter-mile was if it was dropped out of a helicopter.

The second-generation Prius, first going on sale in 2003, was where everyone started paying attention, for better or worse. This generation was when the car really came into its own and became a pop culture sensation synonymous with being environmentally conscious. The Prius was now more Prius-shaped as opposed to just a weird-looking Echo and got extraordinary fuel economy for the time, netting an estimated 46 combined miles per gallon. It even outmatched other hybrids that were showing up on the market. A Honda Civic Hybrid from the same year could only muster 40 miles per gallon. 

The Prius was unconventional looking and not at all a performance car, but it taught the car-buying public that hybrid technology worked and it could save you quite a bit of money at the pump.