4th generation coming 2015!

That kinda the idea!

 

Catholics call them Habits.

 

I wish the new Prius is going to be as quiet as the new Chevrolet Cruze Diesel. The Chevy has a lot of sound proofing. You can't even hear the diesel engine.

 

Arrgghhh...

 

Side window sill hight lowered 3 inches.

 

Green Car Congress: Toyota targeting thermal efficiency of more than 45% for next-generation gasoline engines for hybrids

You are welcome.

The paddings make it look like Gen3 Prius. I think it is going to have a hybrid look between Prius and CT200h. The hood looks to be lower. The rear hatch angle is higher.

If it is lighter and drives better with more efficient ICE, wowie! The gen4 plugin version may weigh less than a regular gen3.

 

This seems to be fixing a symptom, rather than the root cause. Ergonomically, the seat should be moved back so that tall people have good leg support from the seat alone with straight, instead of splayed legs resting on things to the side. I believe the seat can be moved back far enough for this, though seat rail extensions may be necessary. The actual problem is that the steering wheel doesn't telescope far back enough to allow the seat position to be so far back.

I'm not that tall and I find the steering wheel doesn't telescope back far enough. It's better in the Gen 3 than the Gen 2, but still not enough for me.

 

Understand, this is pure conjecture. I am not arguing the case, and will not defend it.

Might the pictured "mule" be a 2014? While differences can be seen, it is still very similar to the 2010-2013. Might this be the next natural evolution of the G3 design, and not a 2015 at all, which from all reports will be a much different design? It is only the auto magazines that labelled the photos that of a 2015.

Thoughts?

 

There are two simple but problematic ways to tweak(get an incremental increase from a engineering modification) the G3 for better fuel efficiency: 1) lower the curb weight by +200 pounds and 2) reduce the frontal aerodynamic surface area. The first increases city fuel efficiency the second increases highway fuel efficiency. The first requires mechanical and material science wizardry so it requires hard work and a bit of luck. IMHO the easiest way to lose weight is to switch from a NimH to Lithium Ion battery tech keeping the same power-current capacity and opting to lower the curb weight instead. The second requires a loss of internal space and might make the vehicle less appealing to consumers so its a risky move too. The easiest modification to lowering the frontal aerodynamic surface area of a G3 would be replace with external side mirrors with cameras the most involved would be to downsize the unibody frame ( however because Toyota Prius did poorly on the new partial side-corner frontal collision test this is not outside the realm of redesign pathways for G4) . In both cases, handling around tight turns can degrade unless the weight is redistributed carefully so that the center of mass and center of gravity is shifted to keep or improve handling of tight turns. If you see your "mule" going around at tight turns at high speed on a test circuit - it is highly likely Toyota has changed the curb weight of the vehicle and is testing out the test vehicle's new center of mass and center of gravity configuration.

 

What's wrong with the torsion beam?

 

I really wouldn't mind some interior carbon fiber, let's say in a designated sport trim of the next Gen Prius. it goes so well with black dash imo, Please! and don't forget a carbon fiber rear spoiler!

 

This is of course a 4 gen prototype. The logic thing to do by Toyota is to 1) keep current custom base of Prius and 2) attract new buyers. Look at how Apple works with the iPhone design, Incremental changes but still keeping the iPhonelook. This is exactly what Toyota does and it makes totally sense too. They have the worlds largest hybrid customer base already. By refining the design and improving the fuel efficiency they hope to keep the current customers and attract new ones. The changes suggest by the photos is in line with this philosophy. Toyota wont do anything drastic in design with the Prius. It would make them loose customers. The ideas of 2014 model heavily masked isn't very realistic. Neither is the sci fi idea of selfdriving cars. The CT200h interior dash is probably just a test thing. Maybe the changed wind shield shape makes it impossible to use current 3 gen dash or Toyota just dont want us to see the upcoming dash. The most probable answer is though that it isnt testing ready yet because they have prioritized the new THS and the body of the car.

 

This is highly improbable. The competition in hybrids forces Toyota to launch a new significantly more efficient engine in two years. Otherwise Prius wont be ahead of competition anymore.

 

I agree. The sky active engine "mazda" gets 40 mpg with no hybrid technology at all.
Makes you think what the possibilities are with hybrid!

Alan.. Sent with GS4

 

40 mpg combined is great!

 

Has this been posted here yet? Haven't seen anything...



2015 Toyota Prius Spy Photos – News – Car and Driver

 

Clueless online car mag posted Gen III Prius spy photos as 2015 Gen IV. 2015 Toyota Prius spy shots inside and out