MEET THE UK-SPEC Auris Hybrid, the first hybrid Toyota you might actually mistake for an ordinary car. Problem is, Toyota Japan has only made the Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) available to the European market and have no plans to bring it to the southern tip of Africa.

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That means for the time being we’re stuck with the narcolepsy-inducing Prius, otherwise known as the poster car for eco warriors with swollen budgets and no car sense. But unlike the appliance-like Prius, the Auris is actually pretty enjoyable to drive.

Although the two cars use the same powertrain and continuously variable transmission (CVT), and tip the scales at the same 1370kg, on the road they are poles apart. The Auris HSD is the dynamic package: a stiffer platform and suspension delivers a fraction of the body roll that bedevils the Prius, plus it corners with greater agility and offers more lateral traction. The sheet metal is more appealing and interior refinement of a higher order too.

In the UK the top-spec HSD is positioned as a C-segment-priced alternative to the Prius and is set to account for one third of total Auris sales in the UK this year. That said, the UK’s rising fuel prices and tax benefits of owning a ‘green’ car (as much as 6400 Euros in some EU countries) boosted Prius sales to 8000 units in the UK alone last year.

In SA the entry-level Prius Advanced spec commands a steep R332 700 while the top spec Exclusive version adds another R50 000. A hugely expensive exercise just to tell everyone you’re a green.  No surprise that on average less than ten leave South African showrooms every month.

If Toyota intends to reach its goal of a hybrid variant in every model range by 2012, we see no reason why the HSD shouldn’t make its way to SA too. It’s a better all-round alternative to the Prius and is likely to be more affordable if the UK positioning is anything to go by.

By bringing in the relatively affordable Auris HSD, Toyota will give more South Africans access to Toyota’s hybrid technology and they’ll have a stronger counterpoint to the new hybrid benchmark, the R300 000 Honda CR-Z.

Which begs a question. Is there still a future for the Prius in SA? Ideally the current Prius series parallel hybrid will step aside soon for the newest all-electric plug-in version which makes its debut in Europe later this year.