2016 Toyota Prius Technical & Package Information

The 4T equipment is mostly cosmetic. For those with skill and money, or simply more money, a 4 w/ ATP can have all that stuff installed later. The dealer may even be convinced to do it for you. I only hesitate with putting on the 17" alloys; it depends on the weight difference. Too much, and it will have impact on braking feel and maybe performance.

 

Only on the models without spare tire.

I take it having adult sized people in rear seat or taking long trips never occurred while you are behind steering wheel.

 

I have a question on battery capacity. Am I doing the calculations correctly? It looks like the Nickel-Metal Hydride battery theoretically is 1.310 KW/hr as where as the Lithium-Ion battery is only 745 W/hr. I am assuming total DC voltage at rated ampere hour per attached PDF.

 

Yes, that is correct. Toyota response for that question was Ni-MH has less usable power, and Li-on has more. So in the end usable KW is same between those two.

 

NiMh is using only 40% of it's capacity (SOC 40-80%). So, usable is about 524 Wh.

Lithium-ion has to use 70% to match the 524 Wh. My guess is 20-90% state of charge.

 

I agree with the above analysis, but can the Lion battery really handle 130 amp discharge/charge currents without shortening the useful life? We know from experience in Gen2/Gen3 that the NiMh batteries can handle these currents for 200-250k miles (longer if balance is maintained, perhaps shorter in hot climates). Obviously Toyota thinks that it can, at least during the warranty period.

JeffD

 

The lithium-ion in my PiP can, but it's usage is only 20-85% in EV mode. Hybrid mode with 1 pip can go down to 15% I believe.

I can tell you the regen ability toward 85% is pretty bad, very light. The power near the end of EV mode is good. It is rated 38 kW from 4.4 kWh pack around 201v.

 

You can click the floppy disk symbol and then download.

 

^ Bit of a typo.

I wonder too: is the steering setup the same for models that come with 15" and 17" wheels. With 3rd gen there were some differences.

 

My 2010 has LED headlights.

 

Looking at some of the videos, it looks like the lightweight tonneau cover is some sort of stiff board with cables attached to the hatch door, so opening the hatch also opens the cover. And the heavier tonneau cover is the roll-up one like we have in the Gen 3.

If the lightweight cover is indeed a stiff board, there's really no good place to stow it. It's in the way if you need the extra space. The current Gen 3 cover is easy to roll up and completely remove.

If I'm using it for emergency power, there's no place under an open hood that won't get wet - we're having a blizzard or torrential rain with lots of wind. But when it's safely inside the car, it can rain, snow, and blow all it wants.

 

...be careful with EPA cargo space specs, I do not understand it.
I see little diff between real Gen3 and Gen4 cargo vol except you can opt to buy no spare tire option.

 

That's what I was thinking too. Someone (one of the mod's?) I think said it can be tucked out of the way somehow.

Still, the 3rd gen cover, when "furled", is very compact, and the sub-floor has notch outs so you can put it under the hatch deck.

 

Are those bungees going from the tonneau cover, down to the car body to keep it tight when down? I've only seen the ropes that lift it with the hatch on other cars.

 

Turning radius is still different, 15" vs 17":



I wonder: would there still be different steering components, per gen 3, or is it purely for wheel clearance. FWIW, my 3rd gen brochure says 34.20 feet, just one the one value. Assume that'd be with the 15" wheels.

 

IIRC for 2010 Gen 3, the turning circle diameter for the 15" was 34.2 ft and the turning circle diameter for the 17" was 36 ft.
Assuming that turning circles are measured the same way for both generations, it seems like an improvement for both 15" and 17" wheels but in both generations, a larger turning circle is one of the consequences of 17" wheel models.