Toyota Reveals Prius Family of Vehicles; Prius liftback, Prius v, Prius c,and Prius PHV

In general I am very happy with my 2010. Nav system is the BIG exception along with my last snow driving... will be happy to see the new models when they come out. The whole point is I am seeing more and more Prius vs less gas hogs!

 

I think you're painting "SUV buyers" in too black and white. Sure there are many who hold "bigger + more power = better" but there are a lot who just wish they could have their space and amenities with better MPG. We proved it when we showed the vehicle to consumers in our "private clinics" (yes, I'm going to refer to these a lot). People who said they never considered a Prius - in fact, they HATED it with a passion - could not get over the fact that they liked Prius v. It was the car THEY were looking for.

What he said. Actually, if you're a Prius owner, think of the Prius v not necessary as the vehicle YOU want, but as the vehicle you want to sell your friend/family/colleague who says "Prius is great, but it's just not big enough." We just gave you ammo to respond to this long-time criticism.

Interesting enough, we thought so too. Until the data from our clinic respondents showed it will more likely draw from the Small SUV crowd.

Doug Coleman
Prius Product Manager
Toyota Motor Sales, USA

 

"Private Clinics? Data from Clinic Respondents?

Why am I suddenly scared?

Are these clinics hidden underground? With the only access through a phone booth that will suddenly lower into the ground when you type the word "Hybrid" into the pad?

How is one "initiated" into these clinics? Do you need to change your name when entering the clinic and has anyone that has become a Clinic Respondent escaped to tell the tale?

What exactly are you people up to?

Seriously? That is interesting. But I said "Clearest Comparison" not "Clearest Competition". I think the Volkswagen Sportswagen is a good comparison because of it being a wagon, marketed by Volkswagen as an economical and ecological choice. So I think both would draw a similar potential customer.

The "Sportswagen" crowd itself, is attempting to woo customers from the small SUV crowd. So it's simply following the source upstream. Ultimately Prius v and TDI Sportswagen are both trying to draw from the small SUV crowd. So it is not too suprising to me that your research would reveal that Prius v would draw from the small SUV crowd.

Without the benefit of underground clinics, where clinical respondents are exposed to potential tortures I can only imagine...

My uneducated, very primitave, empiracle observation is that in the suburban, upper middle class neighborhood I currently reside, the two of the most popular vehicles are Prius and various Subaru Station wagons. It kind of seems to me like you have those willing and ready, desirous of purchasing a Prius and Hybrid...and those that don't want a large vehicle or to be seen driving a big SUV but aren't ready for whatever reason to own a Hybrid, and they end up in Subaru Stationwagons. Often AWD is a reason sited by those choosing a Subaru. Again the sample size is....well not even a sample size..but I have family that own Subaru Station wagons and they do seem caught in a limbo of wanting the utility and size offered by a small or larger SUV but don't want the at least in my neighborhood, negative stigma of owning a SUV....



Unsolicitated, my Brother who lives in Wisconsin came back to visit once and exclaimed "What is it with Oregon and Prius and Subaru's?".

 

No, it's nearly the same drivetrain as Prius. As for whether they would want it, I think it's probably the same number that want it in Prius.... without any MPG penalty of course.

Doug Coleman
Prius Product Manager
Toyota Motor Sales, USA

 

Outside looks are good and the back is maybe even better, considering type of car, better than Prius 2010 IMHO.
The interior looks OK, seats seems a bit "stiff". The dashboard looks a bit like a Yaris, and somehow "cheap" - would have to see it live for a better judgement. The new HSI is functionally better, from what I see, than current one (all in one place here, instead of screen to flip through), but colors and display tech looks a bit outdated - but the photograph itself doesn't do any justice to the dashboard in any case...
A bit of a letdown is fuel consumption - this means, since drivetrain is the same as the Prius, that the v is significantly heavier than the Prius 2010.
I would say the v is the Prius for those that need more space and can attract some SUV/VAN buyers that are looking for something economical not available on the (US) market.

On the other hand the c looks *really* interesting...! I wonder when are we going to get more information on that!??

 

I think AWD makes better sense in a car with better ground clearance. AWD in snow and off road takes advantage of the car's ability to safely maneuver snow drifts and potholes/rocks by adding extra traction and stability, but it would run into the same bottoming out problems as the Prius and other cars with low ground clearance. If I were a Toyota salesman and somebody wanted AWD and ground clearance I'd walk them over to the RAV4 because it's probably not going to be MPG that this customer is buying.

 

Nice but I won't buy one.. MPG not high enough, now there going to opposite direction and not using Lithium Ion

 

FYI, Li-Ion would not noticeably change the MPG.

Doug Coleman
Prius Product Manager
Toyota Motor Sales, USA

 

Prius v is growing on me. I think it looks better than the regular Prius.

 

Me too. The front profile has some kick nice person lines.

 

I personally cannot wait to pick up a prius c. It comes out about the time my lease is up on my 2010!

 

Very nice to see Prius spread into other markets.
Unfortunately non of these, will meet our needs.
I only plan to buy EVs in the future. Possibly a plug-in as long as it has at least a 50 mile range.
I have high hopes for the re-emergence of the RAV4 EV, but it looks like Toyota's competition is beating them to the availability announcements (which doesn't necessarily mean they will beat Toyota to availability).

 

I currently have an 09 Honda Fit and 04 Accord.

The Fit has been great--it's not great for highway cruising, but it's fun, solidly built, and has tons of usable space, due to the hatchback and flexible cargo configurations. We thought it seemed much larger than the Jetta Sportwagen we also considered, and it's definitely more usable than the Accord.

We chose the Accord over a Prius because it seemed to have more space and only cost 16.9k. It's been fine, but it doesn't provide us with much variety. Other than a smooth ride, the Fit is better in just about every dimension, especially if (like us) you often only have 3 seats full and can thus fold one down. Thus, we'd like to replace the Accord with something more complimentary--especially larger.

I was hoping the Prius V would be that car. I expected more of a microvan, with a 3rd row, though that is not a hard requirement. Looking at the Prius comparison pics, though it looks quite small--growth of only several inches. My question, therefore, is:
In practice, will the Prius V offer substantially more usable space than the Fit?

 

I'm surprised that the concept for the c is still four-door. I keep looking at two-seaters and thinking how my car would be even more efficient if it were that size. Not that I haven't made good use of the extra space sometimes, but I'm usually driving alone.

BTW, Toyota emailed me about this; I guess they got my address from my toyotaownersonline account. Anyone else? Gmail labelled it as spam... I haven't decided yet whether to undo that.

 

Actually I would almost say the mini-van and station wagon market. While it is smaller other mini-vans there are some buyers who it will satisfy and since it has higher mpg then any other it will sell.

If the C gets 55mpg or more and costs less then $20,000 it will sell too. I think Toyota should make it look a little more exciting though the concept design is not bad. I would like to see Toyota get a little 'spunky' on the C.

 

What planet are you on? Name one other vehicle bigger than the Prius that gets mileage within 80% of the Prius v. The Ford Escape is the most likely contender, but that's rated at 34/31. People were assuming unrealistic claims a in mid-December on the mileage, but I predicted then that 40 mpg would be the best that could be expected.

Hate to break it to you, but Subaru is leaving the station wagon market and going into the SUV market. The newest Outback is now an ugly big beast and I would never buy one again.

But did you read the rest of the press report - the Prius c and the PHEV? That's the idea of a having a Prius family - something to appeal to everybody, since not everybody will like the same thing.

EVs aren't really any more environmentally responsible than a good HEV unless you put up your own solar panels. What we really need are natural-gas vehicles - the U.S. has enough natural gas to power our own transportation needs without importing it (petroleum is 60% of our trade imbalance - forget about China), it burns cleaner than oil, and it keeps our money away from terrorists. Plus it's a minor change from existing gasoline-based engines. There are fleet vehicles using it now, so the methods of transporting, storing and refueling vehicles have already been worked out.

 

Are there any spec's on the Prius c? I'm curious how it compares in size to the current Gen 2 or Gen 3 Prius?