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Toyota Prius: The super-efficient Prius, with its Hybrid Synergy Drive, has sophisticated electric-drive/battery system that allows energy to be recovered from coasting and braking. In the Prius, a 76-horsepower, 1.5L four-cylinder Atkinson Cycle gasoline engine is paired with a 50-kilowatt electric drive motor. Together, the two produce 110 horsepower, delivered through a planetary-gear continuously variable transmission. The Prius is a "full hybrid," meaning the system not only turns the gasoline engine off when it's not needed, it also has the capability to run at low speeds on electric power alone for s... |