Written by After returning the Toyota Vios J in a Toyota facility in Shah Alam, I spotted a white Prius! Yes, it was THE celebrated Toyota Prius indeed, right here in Shah Alam, looked weathered and used. It could be a test model in Malaysia, whether it could take the torture of Malaysian roads and driving conditions. Is there a surprise looming ahead for us all?
Not the usual fuel burner you would expect
I dont know whether UMW, the assembler and importer for Toyota cars in Malaysia, will be bringing in this car or not. If they do, it would make the Honda Hybrid look outdated all of a sudden, or maybe the other way round, coz the Prius was first introduced in Japan back in 1997 and was mass-produced for worldwide consumers in 2001.
Gear knob on the dash with the usual letters that of an auto box
A little tech specs on the Prius. The car is fitted with a 1.5L petrol engine combined with electric motors to drive the wheels. The motor is powered by an onboard battery that charges itself when the car is in motion. I have not test driven the car nor any further details of it, but, you can view the story of how the Prius came about HERE.
Looks easy to operate it
Lately, the CEO of Honda Malaysia, Atsushi Fujimoto, has been in the media in his ‘fight’ for lower taxes on hybrid vehicles in Malaysia. Honda Malaysia has been in the forefront in the local scene to propagate the use of hybrid vehicles due to rising fuel prices.
Probably the new kid in town?
It may probably be a CSR effort by Honda to respond to the woe of the rakyat for forking out too much for fuel, and it could as well be a marketing strategy to promote the Honda Hybrid car itself. But, nevertheless, it is a win-win situation if the Hybrid be sold much cheaper than its current price of RM162,800, which is more expensive than a normal Civic 2.0L (at RM128,800)
Butt’s flat on the Prius
Anyway, back to the Prius, I have been quite a loyal fan of the TV show aired in 8TV called Reaper. I like the whole idea of the story that revolves around a human grim reaper whose soul was sold to the Devil by his parents when he was born and was commissioned by the Devil himself, to bust ghosts that got escaped from Hell.
He does the rounds, catching ghosts with the Prius
But whats it got to do with cars? Believe it or not, this Reaper drives a Toyota Prius! And he uses it to get to places in search for ghosts to catch. Apparently, the reaper’s dad bought the Prius as a ‘compensation’ for selling his son’s soul to the Devil…
Don’t forget to catch Reaper on Fridays, 10.00pm and the repeat on Thursdays, 12:15am, on 8TV, to catch the Prius in action.
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great car, looks great, drives nicely, and it takes us all a step in the right direction.
UMW should bring it in next year.Taxes and AP issues should be abolish.Public have been bearing the incompetency of the you know who car.
nice write up.. am also a fan of the prius.. but why do you refer it as infamous… heard news that umw might bring it in at the end of the yr.. any idea how much it will be
Will it be available for market in Malaysia…
Where in Shah alam
The most interesting fact that today, i see same article:).
Although I do not remember there may be a link to the source,
but probably not – but your site look solid.
I saw 1 on the road passing me. with stickers.. =_=. maybe a test drive car. and i was like OMG!! a prius already here!! lol. Then I check toyota web site… none of it shows >_
It should be available after numerous testing is done to ensure its reliability in Malaysian roads and weather. I saw the car in one of UMW Toyota’s parking ground in one of their facility there.
I first started liking the Prius after seeing it on Reaper! It looks so cute and cool. Thanks for mentioning it.
We may get the latest model of Prius 2010 next year.
Good work from the spotter! I like this car though
why does it take so long to come to Malaysia? It should be here long time ago now that the environment is a big issue. someone just trying to make money and not care about the environment. i bet it’ll be out of the price range for most people when it arrives here. someone will impose high tax so that it doesn’t effect “you know”
It will be introduce by umw latest end this year. price yet to be confirm and had been spotted around shah alam since early last year. Will be latest toyota model for our malaysian to choose from. Cute looking Prius congratulation to UMWWWWWWWWWWW
Great thanks
Cool blog
Actually i saw this prius last year (hari raya)in highway using malaysia perak number..so i really shock.i wondering from where it come ,but it is on highway that time..cun giler.
Last year 1 prius black color singapore reg..so really nice look.
Why malaysia always late?they started 1997 already..
i want 1st person have it if come to malaysia market.
nice write-up, but wrong use of word…why did u use the word ‘infamous’? sorry if u think that i’m being smart….just want to clarify something…if u must know, the word ‘infamous’ refers to something or someone which or who is famous due to wrong reason or bad persona or negative impact…for example, the infamous Al-Capone…(Al-Capone was a gangster leader from Chicago in the 1940s)…so do u think prius is bad for some reason?