2000 Toyota Prius Hybrid

Recent government mandates have challenged automakers to resuscitate the smog-choked urban landscape by developing vehicles whose emissions are clean enough to use as neo-natal respirators. Resultant public perception identifies counter-culture alternative-fuel vehicles as rolling test beds for tomorrow's transportation technology, putting environmentally aware tree-huggers and hapless power station employees behind the wheel of Energizer eco-cars.

We've tested the GM EV1 and Honda EV Plus through the limited rigors of workday routines, finding both electric cars to be impressive technical marvels whose greatest limitation was the batteries. Though the official ratings seem limited, our real-world exercises revealed ranges equivalent to a single gallon of petrol sipped by a typical four-cylinder coupe. With lease payments rivalling those of near-luxury sedans, it's no wonder these two-door, first-generation electrics had few takers in this sport/ute-crazy age.

What if an electrically motivated car possessed its own gasoline-burning generator offering the best of both worlds? Enter the hybrid concept. Toyota utilizes a "cross-parallel" configuration for the angular Prius, permitting engine and batteries to provide energy in tandem as needed or for the gasoline engine to generate electricity. This concept offers every bit the range of a conventional auto, and it works with the existing fuel station infrastructure. And the kicker is Toyota has already sold more than 25,000 Prius sedans in Japan since '97, securing the title of first mass-produced hybrid. Scheduled for sale in May 2000 through Toyota's entire American dealer network, the high-tech Prius is expected to bear a sticker price in the low $20s, between the Corolla and Camry.

We arranged for an extensive test of the Prius to see if it could boldly go where no alternative fuel vehicle had gone before: cross country. Sure, a couple record-seekers have limped electric cars great distances with weeks of planning and cooperation from the utilities, but we wanted to hit the highway without calling in government favors and scrutinizing every microjoule consumed.

As tribute to the otherworldly, leading-edge technology, we charted a rough coast-to-coast course to include several scientific landmarks regarded as must-sees by X-philes: Area 51, Meteor Crater, Biosphere 2, Very Large Array, Roswell, and Kennedy Space Center. Connect the dots, and the distance tallies to about 3600 miles. Not even a week's drive, if all goes well.