Toyota Prius hatchback 2005 review

This week we welcome a new member to the family, but this one is not just any car – it's one of those new fangled hybrid Prius thingies.

You know - one of the futuristic cars that runs on a combination of petrol and electricity - that uses hardly any fuel.

The other is the hybrid version of Honda's Civic sedan, but the Prius is by far and away the better looking of the two.

Toyota claims it offers the same kind of performance and interior space as a conventional 2.0-litre car.

Fuel consumption is a claimed 4.4 litres per 100km from the 45-litre tank, which gives it quite a range.

It's priced from $36,500 and is pretty well equipped.

The Prius looks different and, dare we say it, it even looks a little bit sporty.

We reckon that's important because if you going to shell out the extra dough for one, then you're going to want people to know that you are driving something special.

Esteemed motoring editor Peter Barnwell knows his cars but he wouldn't know one end of a computer from another.

Everyone will tell you, however, that I'm a bit of a techno geek and, in that context, I've really been looking forward to spending some quality time behind the wheel of this car. Seeing how far it will go on a single tank and that sort of thing.

We've decided that we are not going to treat the Prius differently to any other car, because if the technology is going to succeed – then it needs to fit in with our needs rather than the other way around.

Getting into the car and driving it for the first time is a bit of a steep learning curve.

For a start, there's no key – just a keyless entry unit that you push into a slot to the right of the steering wheel.

After that there's a button to switch things on, then you need to push it again to start the engine so to speak.

When we say "start the engine", there's no initial starter motor or engine noise, so it requires a leap of faith.

Put your foot on the brake, select Drive and suddenly the car is in motion.

We'll check back after we've filled it up for the first time.