Any thoughts on the next generation Prius Plug in??

It will be interesting. Time to hurry up and wait.

 

What is your reasoning for thinking that?

 

It would be nice to get better EV range and speed and keep costs low

 

Keeping the price within reach for mainstream consumers and not compromising seating or cargo space has been a top priority. Wavering too much from that with the next generation doesn't seem realistic.

 

It's most likely not going to be 40-50 miles on a charge. I'm thinking it'd be 20 or so miles. The key is NOT losing any cargo space and being able to match up against the liftback in range. Which I think is possible (keep the same amount of gas volume). Either that or perhaps recharging is more efficient and it takes advantage of the largest battery in general.

 

I agree; 20 miles or so at best. Toyota hasn't shown a great interest in plug-ins, so anyone expecting great advancement is likely to be disappointed.

 

I wouldn't say that they don't show any interest in plug-ins, they're just ready to commit to an 'all electric' plugin. I think they show great interest in plugins now as the reason for releasing this next plugin alongside with the regular. I suspect they **will** solve the cargo issue and that everything would be quite efficient and close the liftback, with the added benefit of traveling further on electricity and plugging in.

This is in fact my next target vehicle and the new V if they ever release the 7 seater. I have a 2010 Gen 3 and I love it, I can't see myself upgrading to the Gen IV regular, I still get 50+ mpgs and even reached 55 on one tank. I travel over 520 miles per tank consistently. A plugin would make sense but don't like the current tradeback in the current gen's plugin...

 

Please explain this sentence.

 

1. I use the full cargo space of my liftback, anything less is slightly questionable
2. I initially led to believe the PiP had special tires to protect against flats, there's 'goop' in this case - again as an only family car I can't find myself gooping if I ever have a flat
3. I push my Prius at 50+mpg for over 500 miles on a straight trip cross country with fam, with the plugin I might get 450 with a straight trip, granted it's **less** gasoline overall since I have electric portion and a smaller tank, but I can't part with that benefit either - I've had several 550+ mile tanks and LOVE IT!
4. Prius almost paid off, we already use it pretty well and efficiently, a plugin that's the same gen tech doesn't make sense considering all the tradebacks (some which are important!)

 

i don't expect to see a spare tyre in the future. space is too valuable a resource and the competition is not providing one either. toyota's changes are usually incremental and i expect 15-20 miles (vs 11 currently) with the same cargo space and slightly better hv mpg's along with other small improvement's. that would be enough for me to trade in, but if they hit one out of the park, i'm not gonna complain!

 

Run flat tires have been around awhile

 

but they don't get good mpg's.

 

I think it'd be 20 miles minimum. They mention a lighter engine and I even think the interior will hold more space which is interesting. Maybe I'd upgrade if I didn't lose any space. The flat thing is interesting question. Could they possibly make room for a spare? Or is there better 'goop' What about a lighter spare? Hmm, it seems like we'd have to wait 1 more year for an announcement. Until then, spy shots!

 

Totally agree that things are usually incremental. One other side effect of not updating incrementally is alienating owners that just bought last year's tech. People are less likely to buy from a company if they know their stuff will be outdated pretty quick. This is all moot of course if they put a pretty high premium on the new updates.

 

I agree with everything you said, except the range on the PiP. It's actually 20%-80% on the PiP.

But totally agree that there just isn't much more room for a bigger battery unless they increase the size of the car some.

 

next gen is a ground up reno, is it not?

 

I've never heard that.

Personally I can't see why any company would do a total redo on a car unless it is selling very badly. A ton of testing and research goes into every little change they make. Totally redoing a car would drive profit margins down. That wouldn't make a lot of sense on a car that is already selling VERY well.

 

20% to 80% (SOC) is 60% usable range as pointed out by Tony, so nothing to correct