4th generation coming 2015!

Probably the only hint of a 2016 Prius will be a few tiny photos of a taillamp or grill, etc ... in about September. Maybe there'll be a Blue Man Crew leak video in September, that's about it. We'll know it's going to be revealed shortly before it's revealed, but NOBODY on the outside (like you and me) will see it until it is officially unveiled at a major auto show. Then every auto media outlet will have it reprinted everywhere, and we'll have lots to say about it.

Did any press or non-Toyota employees see all of the 3rd gen before Jan 2009 Detroit auto show?

FWIW, has anyone taken a look at the current Corolla or Rav4 that both came out about 2 years ago?
They are both impressive, nicely styled inside and out. Hopefully 4th gen gets some of this action.
The Camry is the one I don't get: I found more headroom in the Corolla S premium rental (with sunroof !! ) than Camry.

6 months til gen4 reveal and 8 or 9 months til it arrives. I want to see how much better it is than the current and of course offer plenty of opinions

 

So we wait until November or December at the earliest? No thanks. Sorry.

 

Not sure what Toyota is thinking. Winter seems like a horrible time to release a hybrid/EV. The MPG will suffer due to the weather. They are wanting to bring in new customers with sportier styling but will end up upsetting them with the lower winter MPG. Surprised they don't schedule these releases for spring/summer.

 

Is Toyota marketing re-purposing the GM jingle for the GenIV Prius as "...Find New Places..."?

 

I don't understand it either. Honda and Ford did the same thing. Ford might have been counting it though.

 

it's so ingrained in the car industry, mostly based on the calender year. they must feel the spring before model year is too early, and spring after is too late.

 

I thought it was a year.
There was a further announced delay, but it was one of those April fools things.

 

Gen IV liftback 6 mos, but then add 6 mos to that to get the PiP.

Winter is not a bad time just if you are worrying about meeting a high production ramp. Slower sales means an easier factory ramp. Then again, I don't think they delay it at all once it is "ready", just to hit some optimal time of year. As soon as you have the product, you sell it.

 

Someone has already posted the 'Donlon' chart showing 2016 Prius production starting in November 2015 in Japan. Takes a month or so to get here.

 

if you want a new prius, you only have two options.

 

And the 2 options for me this year were my 2015 Persona, and more recently my wife's brand new leftover 2014 v... We are a Gen 3 All Pri Family!! Lol.

 

love it.

 

Right, but sensible price was one of Lee's prerequisites (so my reference was to the Model 3 and its more palatable mainstream pricing).

 

You aren't paying attention. This is a hydrogen PEV hybrid. You'd still plug in at home, and you'd still only use the H2 filling stations for long-distance trips, same as superchargers. You'd just need a lot fewer of them because they won't be occupied for 30-75 minutes, they'll be occupied for 3-5 minutes.

 

Why not just stick with the humble petrol PHEV? The fuel source is already there and well established and emissions would be significantly down as lots of shorter runs would be on electric?

 

ICE is high maintenance. FC stack is maintenance free (just coolant change, per Mirai owner's manual). No noise, no vibration, no exhaust, etc. Hydrogen and FC stack can be the ultimate auxiliary power source.

Back to the topic, it sounds like Gen4 and PiP2 will have different body design. PiP2 will likely have less sporty design while Gen4 will be more sporty.

 

Fewer, maybe, but not much less than Superchargers or other fast DC charging. You need a certain density of hydrogen stations to be convenient for users. Even if nearly all their miles are powered by the grid, people will likely pass on the PFCV if their local station is 20 minutes or more away. A fleet of FC buses, delivery trucks, or even cabs could get by with one or a handful of stations to cover a city. Once the FCVs spread out into private hands, more stations will be needed, even for the same number of vehicles.

Metal hydride hydrogen storage has a better shot at requiring fewer hydrogen stations than plugin FCV alone. With removable cartridges or discs, swapping spots can be set up at stores as is now done for propane. That could handle residential FCV refueling. Then actual stations would only need to be built along major highway corridors.

The modern ICE is far from high maintenance. The only regular item that would be done a yearly basis is the oil change. For a PHV that will be once a year or less, and that will get farther apart with ULSG. The other things; air filter, spark plugs, transmission fluid, coolant, etc., have intervals measured in years for ICEVs with typical use.

The fuel cell itself has lower maintenance, but the hydrogen tanks will require regular inspections, and eventual replacement

Guess we won't see a low cost plugin option for the Prius if Toyota is truly treating them as separate models.

 

How many gasoline "fuel tanks" have needed maintenance / inspection vs. hydrogen "fuel tanks"?