Toyota Unveils Prius Hybrid With More Power, Range

The new Toyota gas-electric Prius hybrid not only comes with more power, acceleration and driving range. It's also more stylish, scrapping the rather stodgy angular body for a sleekly futuristic look.

Photo Insert: The Prius, which first went on sale in 1997, switches back and forth between a gasoline engine and electric motor to deliver a cleaner drive than the models with regular combustion engines.

Simon Humphries, senior general manager of Global Toyota design who unveiled the car in Tokyo on Wednesday, stressed that the company was still defying the skeptics who keep asking how much longer the Japanese automaker will stick with hybrids in a rapidly electrifying industry, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

"Simply because the Prius is an eco-car within everyone's reach. In order to achieve carbon neutrality, everyone in the world must participate. We need ecological solutions within reach of many. And it needs to start today, not tomorrow," he told reporters.

The fifth-generation Prius hybrid models will go on sale this winter first in Japan than the US. A plug-in version will hit the market next year, according to Toyota Motor Corp. Prices were not announced.

The automaker swapped an older nickel-metal-hydride battery for a smaller, lighter lithium-ion battery. The result will be almost double the horsepower, quicker acceleration and 50% longer range.

The Prius, which first went on sale in 1997, switches back and forth between a gasoline engine and electric motor to deliver a cleaner drive than the models with regular combustion engines.

Electric cars are zero-emissions but need recharging. Some consumers are worried about running out of juice on the roads. A hybrid always has the gas engine as backup.

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