The Prius is the real deal as far as hybrids go.

Toyota's petrol/electric job will run in electric-only mode and it can ultimately recover plenty of power from its continuously variable transmission set-up -- which is actually nothing more complex than the petrol engine and the electric motor separated by a glorified differential.

Little wonder Toyota is raising the profile of hybrids in this country (more here) while many people aren't even aware that Honda builds hybrids.

But Honda is addressing that. These pictures, taken by the desert dwellers employed by spy photographers Carparazzi, show a modified Honda Airwave.

If the front end looks familiar, it's from the car we know as the Jazz ('Fit' in other markets) and tacked on the Airwave's wagon body. That gives you some indication of the car's overall size. The Airwave is built on the same basic platform as the Jazz, but is a wagon/mini people mover rather than the hatch that the Jazz is.

Initially thinking the car was a facelift of the Airwave, the photographers' suspicions were raised when they noticed that these cars were left-hand drive and the Airwave is sold in the Japanese domestic market only -- a right-hand drive market like Australia.

Questioning the crew with the cars (there were two on test), the photographers learned that the cars were engineering mules for the new global hybrid car that is expected to go on sale in 2010. Honda will build up to 200,000 units a year at a plant in Suzuka, Japan -- with half that production allocated to the US market.

The aim is for Honda to bring the new car to market at a lower price than the Toyota is currently charging for the Prius.

-- with Carparazzi

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