A few years ago, there was still a question about which alternate fuel source was going to win out and save the U.S. from its dependency on foreign oil, but that particular question isn’t exactly one people are still asking. I think we can all pretty much agree that all-electric vehicles officially are the wave the future, which means we’re essentially in an arms race to find out which automakers can come up with the best and most diverse options for consumers looking into an EV.
While Toyota wasn’t the first car company to develop an EV (Nissan and Chevrolet beat them to the punch), they could very well have the most EV offerings within the year, including an all-electric version of the wildly popular Toyota Prius. By 2012, Toyota hopes to have two more EVs available to consumers, bringing the grand total to three. That would pretty easily put them at the head of the all-electric car race. Well, figurate race, but you get the picture.
The Prius was a smart place to start since consumers already have a pretty strong connection between it and the idea of fuel economy, but the second EV—an all-electric version of the RAV4 crossover—combines the strong industry need for electric vehicles with the strong industry need for CUVs. When one considers the fact that in Wellington, Toyota RAV4 non-EVs are pretty easily among dealers’ best-sellers, it seems like another perfect marriage in terms of consumer demand.
But what about this third EV? Allow us to introduce you to the Scion iQ EV. It’s a peppy little two-door hatch with a fresh, youthgul design. Even better is the fact that it can go 50-65 miles on a single charge, meaning all those youngsters taking this thing to work every day may never use a single drop of gas for your usual commute.
In all, that gives Toyota three EV models in just their first year of really giving that particular medium a shot. Rest assured that they’ll continue to develop more and improve the technology they’ve got to extend the lives of their lithium batteries, but in the meantime, let’s all just be grateful that we have options for vehicles that don’t require us to pay $4.00 a gallon for gas.
