I just splurged a whopping $6.51 to take a Toyota Prius out at night for an hour-long unsupervised test drive, courtesy of the nice folks at ZipCar.


The Prius has been rightfully described as an "automotive appliance." It handles the chore of transporting you and your stuff from point A to point B as reliably as anything else on the road. And yet I have a hard time even calling it a car, as somehow it possesses none of the qualities that I so love about cars. It is reasonably comfortable and has respectable cargo space. It allows you to pass and to go up some pretty steep hills without making a fuss. But somehow it still manages to offer a fun factor of precisely zero while doing it.


The dash interface is superbly designed with carefully thought out touch screen inputs as well as a sprinkling of buttons for audio and climate control. On the downside, the "joystick" for selecting "F" and "R" gears is outright silly and the all-digital readouts arguably lack in visual appeal, although PlayStation driving simulators' fans might disagree with me on that. The seats are also a little too tall for my taste and there are some issues with rear visibility, but otherwise it's hard to find any major faults with the design. This is, after all, a Toyota product!


Dynamically, the only way to tell that this is not a Corolla is by the fact that the brake pedal has a somewhat "spongy" feel to it, which is a side effect of employing the regenerative braking technique that allows a hybrid to save on fuel. Incidentally, it is hard not to draw a parallel with a Corolla. A Prius is similar in most outside dimensions except that it is about three inches shorter. Yet on the inside the hatchback design actually allows for a little more rear leg room in a Prius, while still leaving enough space in the shallow trunk.


However, a Corolla can go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 8 seconds as opposed to more than 10 for a Prius. You can also get a nicely equipped Corolla for about $17,000, while a Prius starts at around $22,000 although it offers some extra creature comforts such as automatic climate controls. Still, for the difference of five grand you can buy enough gas to take a Corolla at least twice around the equator, while having a little more fun at it, but I guess that's not the point...


Overall, driving what appears to be the most popular vehicle in San Francisco has left a mixed feeling. On one hand, a Prius is clearly a technological marvel. On the other hand, getting behind its steering wheel is only a pleasurable activity if your idea of fun is constantly gazing at the displays and figuring out creative new ways to squeeze the most mileage out of a tank of gas.


A Prius is a vehicle designed for people who don't like cars and cannot stand the thought of paying an extra cent to the oil companies. It is for the left-leaning California snobs who care about the environment just enough to distance themselves from the hedonic excess of pleasurable driving yet not enough to take a bus. It is for people with too many principles and too much money yet not enough common sense.


As for the rest of us, we have better things to do than pinching pennies at the fuel pump. For instance, how about comparing a 23-year-old Ferrari to a brand new Kia minivan while making fun of Prius drivers?