To put advantages of driving the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid in perspective, Toyota has launched a web application that tells you how much fuel and CO2 you can save on your everyday drive if you do it in a Prius PHEV. You enter your starting point and your destination, and then the app, literally, takes you there via Google Street View in a Plug-in Prius, and tells you the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and the battery level.

It is a good and practical idea to promote the car, and the also pretty clever technology-wise. But all it does – especially if you drive a gas-guzzler – is make you feel guilty and depressed. You’ll be thinking about how much fuel you could save if you had a Prius, and all that CO2…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4GCxTd3wB0

And then you start thinking sod that, I’d rather drive a fun car and burn fuel than commute in a boring and uncool Japanese box!

Give it a virtual try: Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Virtual Drive