Now's the time to purchase the Toyota Prius . With the price of oil and gasoline climbing daily, these hybrid cars are in hot demand. Could this vehicle be the best hybrid car? Take a look at the listings below to buy your next Toyota Prius .

The first Toyota Prius sold in the United States was in 2001, model NHW11. This Prius had a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine producing 70 HP and permanet magnet AC electric motor put out 44 HP. It had a retail price of $19,995 and was produced until 2003.

In 2004 the present Toyota Prius model NHW20 was released. It came as a liftback and was 6 inches longer than the previous model. It was redesigned to have a more aerodynamic body shape.

The Toyota Prius model NHW20 is more powerful and efficiency was boosted over the model NHW11. In 2004, Toyota warranted the batteries of the Prius for 100,000 miles or eight years whichever came first. Toyota estimates the battery pack will last around 15 years.

The US government crash rating for the 2004 Toyota Prius came in a strong five star rating for the driver and a four star passenger rating. In the rollover test, it produced another four star rating. You can feel safe while driving one of these cars.

In subsuquent years stronger safety features were added such as more advanced airbags and side curtain airbags.

Fuel economy estimates for the Toyota Prius are as follows:

2008 - 48 city, 45 highway

2001 - 42 city, 41 highway

As you can see the newer models have raised the efficiency level of the vehicle over earlier models.

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