Sometimes in a practical and efficient world, style must give way to function. That said, when looking at the new Toyota Hi-CT concept car, I wonder just how much style we have to give up in order to achieve said practicality and efficiency.

Imagine, for a moment, a Mini Cooper. Nice looking car, right? Now take its nose and smash it so that it extends slightly further than the windshield. Welcome to the Toyota Hi-CT.

It’s like a car after a botched nose job.

But looks aren’t everything. True, the Hi-CT will facilitate travel in cities where traffic congestion is high, but along with its compact size, it’s the vehicle’s power source that’s of real interest here. The Hi-CT is powered by a hybrid drive-train, which combines a 1.5-liter gasoline engine with an electric motor.

While a lot of car gurus seem turned off by the aesthetics, I applaud Toyota for developing small, reliable hybrid vehicles whose environmental impact is at the core of conceptualization. But I’ll need to see more concrete performance data on the vehicle before I start singing the praises of this little pug-nosed hybrid.

But the Hi-CT is not without some measure of charm.