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Maybe what the manufacturers want you to say when you look at the car is ‘cool!’ The Toyota Hi-CT looks a fun car for the younger generation.
It’s not your conventional looking car and it’s been compared to great grandma’s icebox as well as something that looks like grandpa’s high waisted beltline.
But ‘quirky’ would just sum it up very well. Add ‘young’ to that and it would be even better. Of course, Toyota says the vehicle is edgy and urban and reflects youthful lifestyles.
To look at, the car is like a high box and has a rectangular shape – 131” x 67” x 70”. It looks like a tall box, slightly curved at the edges and many have said it resembles a little engine. Would they be meaning a toy engine?
What the Toyota Hi-CT also has is a rear trunk that can be removed and a deck which can store equipment, shopping, etc. Well, if it could stow away surfboards and bicycles like they say it will, that’s a good deal. So it doesn’t really matter perhaps what the car looks like.
What would be important when it does get onto the road is the fact that it would be a dream to drive no matter how congested the road might be. For urban commuting and dropping and picking up as well as shopping, this car should be a dream.
The battery pack is placed under the Hi-CT. Now this can be very conveniently charged from any external power source. It has a 100-volt accessory socket so it means you can charge any number of electronic gadgets. The whole car is really a showcase for Toyota’s most recent plug-in hybrid technology.
The power comes from a hybrid drivetrain that works hand in hand with a 1.5 liter gasoline engine. When it is running on the battery-powered motor, you get a greater driving range. What it all adds up to is a lot more economy to get from Point A to Point B in the city.
Well, it might look like a toy but thanks to its shape, it seats four very comfortably inside. So when you add it all up together – the comfort, the economy, the ease of traveling on crowded roads, the ease with which you can park and of course, the ‘cool’ egdy looks, it does seem a very good buy.
If you’re young and confident, who knows, this car could be one in which you make a unique style statement!