Friday, April 14, 2000 — Morth Shore Hows — 37

‘openroad

Prius’ engine features fYiazdla unveils new compact Suv
peppy acceleration

From previous page

Prius power is provided by
an all-aluminum 1.5-litre
gasoline engine, supplemented
by a permanent-magnet type
electric motor that fequires no
maintenance since its internal
components never wear out.
The electric motor produces
30 kilowatts — about 40
horsepower — and quite a
substantial amount of torque.
The gas engine produces 58
horsepower and variable valve
timing helps boost efficiency.

The Prius, like other sirni-
lar hybrids, runs on gasoline,
electricity, or a combination of
both. An electronic system
constantly monitors the power
needs of the vehicle and keeps
the car in. its most efficient
operating, mode.

L found that when driving
the car, there is no perception
of which motive power system
is operating. Just in case you

“are interested in what’s pro-

. pelling your Prius at any given
. time, there’s a small “

screen on the dash with a dia-
gram of what's happening
with regard to power distribu-

‘: Key'to the Prius drive sys-
‘tem is a Dower-split device
which sends engine power
directly to the front wheels or
the electric gensrator.con-
tolling the electric niocor or
battery’ state-of- charge. A.

- Across from so from Esplanade Centre,

planetary gear system is used
to distribute power in place of
a normal transmission. This
works like an advanced infi-
nitely-variable gearbox and
there are no “shift points”
detectable to driver or passen-
gers.

The car is surprisingly
refined in use and makes very
lite noise. There is no sud-
den clatter, for example, when
there’s a shift from electric
motor to gas engine.
Acceleration is as peppy as it
would be worth any decent
small sedan — perhaps better
— and everything happens
very smoothly.

Since the batteries are con-
stantly being charged -— even
under braking — there is no

“plug in and charge” cycle
needed. When the car ts coast-
ing or the brokes are applied,
the motor is tumed into a
generator, capturing cnergy
that would normally be lost.
Other advanced technology
includes “brake by wire” com-
puterized braking, complete
with an ABS system.

There’s no price for the
Prius yet, but word is that it
may come in at just under
$30,600. The two-seater
Honda Insight hybrid will list
for $26,000.

Tony Whitney’s column
appears courtesy of the BC
Automobile Dealers’

Association (BCADA).

Greg Wilson
Contributing Writer

MAZDA'S new com-
pact SUV, the 2001
Tribute, will go on
sale in Canada in late
June or early July.

It will be offered in front-
wheel-drive and all-wheel-
drive models ranging in price
from $22,500 for the four
cylinder FWD DX model, to
$32,600 for the V6- powered
AWD ES model with an
automiatic transmission.

The Tribute was designed
and engineered by Mazda
with a litte help from Ford,
who supplied the basic
engine block for the optional
V6 engine, and will offer a
similar model called the
Escape. However, — the
Tribute will be first on the
market.

The Tribute will compete
with compact SUVs like the
Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4,
and Subaru Forester, but is
slightly bigger than most of
its competitors.

The Tribute is 145 mm
(5.5 in.) longer than a Jeep
Cherokee and has a longer
wheelbase. Mazda claims the
Tribute has more front and
rear legroom than a Lexus
RX300.

The Tribute’s cargo area

‘is larger than a CR-V, and

offers fold- flat/removable
rear seats. With the rear lift-

wou two of the top rwesctt oe Ne
‘specialists: on the’ North: Shore.’ We*
-have joined together. to form’ our own

>= Special *52

glass up, the Tribute can
carry a4 x 8 foot (1.2% 24
metre) sheet of plywood.

The base Tribute DX
model with a five-speed man-
ual transmission has a 130-
horsepower, 2.0-litre DOHC
16- valve, four-cylinder
engine. An automatic trans-
mission is not available on
the DX model with the four
cylinder engine.

DX V6, LX V6, and ES

nodels have a 200-horse-
power 3.0-litre DOHC 24-
valve, V6 engine. This
engine is offered with a 4-
speed automatic transmission
only.

All-wheel-drive Tributes
operate in front-wheel-drive
until slippage of the front
wheels is detected — then up
to 50% of the torque is trans-
ferred to the rear wheels by a

“rotary blade coupling”
clutch positioned near the
rear differential.

The AWD Tribute also
has push-button 4WD Lock
which provides a constant
50/50 torque distribution
for travelling on very slippery
surfaces.

Preliminary Manufacturer’s
Suggested Retail Prices for the
front-wheel-drive Tribute are:
DX $22,500; DX V6 $25,400;
and LX V6 $27; 500.

The all-wheel-drive
Tribute is priced as follows:
DX $23,900;
$26,806, LX V6 $29,300;
ES $32, 600.

Otto

DX V6.

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