OPINIONS: FIRST HYBRID DRIVE

Dean EVANS

On a Japanese trip in 1999, our taxi was a Prius, and we witnessed for the first time the novelty of the screen showing where and how the voltage was being moved around the car; 20 years on, the Prius hybrid is gone from NZ (PHEV only), but almost every other Toyota is now hybrid.

David LINKLATER

A Prius, naturally. But the now-rare NHW11 second-generation sedan, one of a handful brought in by Toyota New Zealand around 2000. Toyota hadn’t yet got the hang of making Prius good to drive, but experiencing the technology at work was fascinating.

Maxene LONDON

The first hybrid I experienced was my flatmate's Toyota Corolla. I remember being amazed at how quiet it was. Now, a few years on, I’ve driven a few different hybrids (plug-in or otherwise), and they’re still possibly my favourite cars to drive long-term.