For more than a decade, the Toyota Prius has been the public face of hybrid cars. A new, third-generation model was completely redesigned for 2010 to offer more features and even higher gas mileage. Now, for 2012, the Prius name expands beyond the iconic hatchback to include two new models.
The 2012 Toyota Prius hatchback hardly meddles with the pattern established in 2004: It's a five-door hatchback with a high tail and a split rear window. It's the most aerodynamic shape for a five-passenger mid-size car, and the Prius has one of the lowest drag coefficients of any car on the market--all in the service of fuel economy, which the EPA rates at a combined 50 mpg.
Inside, the styling is Space Age, complete with a "flying buttress" console that offers storage space underneath, though it can be hard to get to. The dashboard splits information into two areas: an Information Center mounted high and close to the windshield base, and more conventional instruments behind the wheel closer to the driver. Plastic surfaces are mostly hard, but the effect is distinctive if hardly luxurious.
The 1.8-liter engine is paired with Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive, which uses a pair of motor-generators that can power the car solely on electricity (at speeds up to 30 mph), add torque to supplement the engine power, and recharge the battery pack during engine overrun or braking. The combined output of the engine and hybrid system is 134 horsepower.
The 2012 Toyota Prius hardly handles in a way to gladden the hearts of sports-car drivers. The 0-to-60-mph time is just under 10 seconds, and the continuously variable nature of the hybrid system means engine noise isn't proportional to road speed--which can take some getting used to for new drivers. The electric power steering is lifeless and numb (as it seems to be on all Toyota models that use it), but it responds fine and the car gets itself around corners adequately. The blending of regenerative braking with the all-disc friction brakes is excellent, and Toyota's had longer experience than any other maker in refining it.
With the interior volume of a mid-size car, the Toyota Prius hatchback offers plenty of space for four adults, or five if the back-seat passengers are willing to stagger their shoulders. Rear-seat legroom benefits from hollowed-out front seatbacks, but in front, the seat padding is skimpy and the hard-plastic center console cuts into knee room for taller drivers.
The 2012 Toyota Prius fits seven airbags as standard, along with the usual array of anti-lock brakes, stability and traction control, and a tire-pressure monitoring system. Radar-based adaptive cruise control, a rear-view camera, and a lane-departure warning system are all optional, as is a "Safety Connect" system to alert first responders after a crash. The much-publicized Intelligent Parking Assist, which controls the steering wheel to help parallel-park a Prius using the car's cameras--though the driver must brake--is a step in the right direction, though Ford's system is better.
For 2012, the Prius five-door comes in four trim levels: Two, Three, Four, and Five. There's an ultra-stripped-down base-level Prius One, but it's only for fleet purchase, and civilians can't buy it. The lowest-level Two and Three models are priced in the low twenties, but the highest-spec trim levels--with either the Technology Package or the first-in-your-neighborhood solar moonroof panel, which runs a small ventilation fan to cool the cockpit when the Prius is parked--will go upwards of $30,000.
Notable features include the Touch Tracer steering-wheel controls, which let drivers swipe and navigate through menus displayed in the Information Display, keeping their eyes closer to the road ahead than if they focus on the close-in cluster. Remote air conditioning, LED headlamps, Bluetooth, and a navigation system are also available.
The biggest Prius news for 2012 is the addition of two new models. The first is the 2012 Toyota Prius V wagon, which offers far more load space, all the traditional Prius virtues, and a combined EPA gas-mileage rating of 42 mpg. After a series of delays due to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, it went on sale late in 2011.
Coming in the early part of 2012 is the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, the first mass-market Toyota to plug into the electric grid to recharge its battery pack. It's virtually identical to the Prius five-door hatchback on the outside, but its battery pack holds three times as much energy, and plugging it in to recharge gives it 8 to 13 miles of all-electric range against the 1 or 2 miles provided by the standard model. Note, however, that unlike the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, the electric range may not be continuous--the plug-in Prius will switch on its engine at any point it needs more power than the batteries can deliver. The EPA hasn't yet rated the Prius Plug-In Hybrid, and like all blended plug-in hybrids, its real-world mileage will depend entirely on how much it's used in all-electric mode.
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As the alternative propulsion sector stands now, Toyota has it pretty good. The do-no-wrong Prius is indisputably the eco car standard-bearer, and continues to sell in healthy quantities -- 83,918 through August 2011. But this is America, land of the pickup truck and midsize sedan. Fortunately for Toyota, it also knows how to build, market, and peddle cars like the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid. Let's talk fuel economy. Whereas the old Camry Hybrid's 31/35 mpg city/highway pales in comparison to the Ford Fusion Hybrid's 41/36 mpg city/highway and the hybridized Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima (35/40 mpg city/highway), our top-of-the-line 2012 XLE tester does a cool 41/38 mpg city/highway on 17-inch alloys wrapped with low-rolling-resistance 215/55-17 tires. That's a 21-percent combined mpg improvement over 2011. A spirited 200-plus-mile dash of city, highway, and quick, undulating back roads left us with a real-world consumption of 37 mpg. Go with the more basic LE trim -- replete with smaller 16-inch steel wheels and narrower rubber -- and the EPA figure rests at 43/39 mpg city/highway (up 26 percent).The tailpipe emissions-less electric component of the power-split hybrid system is chiefly championed by the 141-horsepower tractive motor. If directed by the continuously variable transmission or slipped into the newly inserted EV mode, the motor alone can propel the Camry Hybrid with a not-unsubstantial 199 lb-ft of torque (peak torque available from 0-1500 rpm). Unless the 1.6-kilowatt-hour nickel-metal-hydride battery is at its most minimal state of charge, driving around town carefully and quietly as a bona-fide EV is a cinch, and doesn't feel particularly penalizing given the motor's output. Toyota claims there is less friction loss in the transaxle and better motor-voltage control aiding the relatively accomplished HSD system. Blending battery and gasoline energy sources in haste produces a net of 200 silky horsepower, up from 187. Powertrain integration is honestly among the best of any hybrid vehicle out there.The soft, floaty ride helps generate the illusion the Camry Hybrid is larger than it really is, a plus if you're constantly shuttling people around. There's sufficient space in the back seat to fit three average-size males abreast without the middle passenger having to curl into a ball -- taxi fleets operating Camry Hybrids should find welcome fares. On paper, the interior dimensions haven't drastically changed, with the biggest numeric differences highlighted in rear leg room (+0.6 inch) and rear hip room (+0.6 inch).Answer: Kind of. The interior design and build materials won't be winning any awards, not even in the pedestrian midsize segment. We found the revised color patterns a bit more inviting, and the ergonomics and controls placement and functionality to be well executed, but in the end there's a lack of intangible warmth in the cabin - it's appliance-like, if you will.Front engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan 2.5L/156-hp/156-lb-ft Atkinson cycle DOHC 16-valve I-4, plus 141-hp/199-lb-ft electric motor; 200 hp comb 
Take a stab at guessing the top-selling car in the United States. Played-out request, you say? That's only because the answer has been the same for so long. Toyota, maker of the benchmark midsize sedan/sales stalwart, assembled 99.1 percent of all Camrys sold through March in America. Thanks, Indiana and Kentucky. Through the first quarter of 2011, the Camry found new owners 76,821 times (up 10.5 percent over 2010, though the first three months of 2010 were impacted by recall scares). It might as well get a big bull's-eye painted on its honestly hewn, Vibrant Clarity-themed sheetmetal.
The bull's-eye works two ways. Many consumers find their driving needs fulfilled by Camry, making the family car an invaluable company asset. Second, the Camry is an easy target for certain, um, enthusiasts who feel the urge to publicly proclaim their disapproval. Common descriptors thrown around include "appliance," "beige," and "boring." Example: This Camry is a boring, beige appliance. Is it all blind hatred? Allow us to present another perspective. What the Camry lacks in flair and curb appeal it makes up for in sincerity, wrapped in a forgivably ordinary-looking package. The SE V-6 we drove employs Toyota's 3.5-liter six-cylinder, which made quite the name for itself at its debut, easily banging out 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque in the Camry's service. It's among the best-endowed midsize sedans (engine-wise) available, and the enthusiast can't fault it for its intended acceleration time: an estimated 6.1 seconds from 0-60 mph.
