To say the least, the Prius is not the first eco-friendly car to hit our roads here as the Civic Hybrid has since make inroads and gathering very good response among Malaysian driver. It all came about after the recent surge in petrol price which prompted many drivers to look into ways of saving fuel and hence the demand for alternative energy cars. But that is in another forum altogether, in fact, the Toyota Prius is not targeted to compete with the Civic Hybrid but with the Honda Insight instead, which is currently not available here.
According to Kuah Kock Heng, the President of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, the distributor of Toyota cars in Malaysia said that the Prius, being a proven and tested model overseas will be very well accepted in our markets here where he mentioned "As a result, hybrid technology is now a mainstrean option, being adopted by carmakers,"
Sold for RM175,000, the Prius is the best selling eco-friendly car in its native home Japan and this third generation model has been receiving very good feedback in other markets like Australia and very evidently, over in the United States. Although the price might be a wee bit expensive, but you will appreciate the cost it will save you on fuel in a long run, after all, its technology is what you have to be really impressed about.
The car comes standard with 15 inch tyres together with security standards like the ABS, EBD, Traction and Stability control systems, Brake and Hill-start assist, a 7 airbags fittings inside the car as well as an all surround audio system with 8 speakers. According to UMW, there are targeting to sell about 100 units by the end of this year probably due to the price bracket. The limitation here is contributed due to the fact that demand is currently overtaking supply for this eco wonder.
