Two things that made the Gen 1 Plug-in Prius great that are missing in the Prius Prime

that's too bad, but wouldn't a lift back make more sense?

 

For Uber/Lyft? Aren't they companies about moving people, not cargo.

 

people and luggage in some cases, that's why a five seat lift back makes more sense over a 4 seat prime, with reduced cargo space.

 

No 5 seats? No Prime for me! The utility of 5 seats (the bench in the back) is great. To bring up MPG by losing a seat is kind of a lame reason (we've improved the MPG but we've lost space). Volt Improved MPG but gained space. If they want 50 MPG they can make it a 2 seater!

Chevy must be sitting pretty now with a bit more of a competitive edge. Perhaps there'll be a refresh of the Volt to be 45 mpg, 50 miles EV and comfortable 5 seats.

 

did you just find out?

 

Interesting vehicle the "Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV":
2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Debuts in New York – News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog
12-kWh lithium-ion battery...
..."Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV hits showrooms in the fall of 2016."

Sweet, more competition!

With all the new hybrid/PHEV/BEV's coming out this year- there is no reason to rush into choosing one till they're all available.

Wonder how the ppl who bought the new RAV4 Hybrid feel about the PHEV Outlander news.... especially now that it's been confirmed that some of the RAV4 Hybrid's have Chinese sourced engines.

 

they probably aren't paying attention. you buy what's available.

 

Yup. The majority of consumers don't just jump on new tech anyway.

HSD is extremely well proven.

 

The current RAV4 Hybrid would make a pretty sweet PHEV!
If Mitsubishi can do it- Toyota certainly can too.

Supposedly Subaru is working on a PHEV version of their Crosstrek Hybrid...

Interesting times!

 

I thought the first Volt was 37mpg combined. If it was 34 mpg, then the new 42 is even more impressive.

Now take off the Prius glasses, and find a non-Prius with 50mpg or higher combined. Then look at the Volt's numbers with the knowledge that the Prius is the high outlier, and that the Volt won't use gas for 53 miles a day.

A +1 seat that only works for child seats and children is still a big plus for families than 0 zero seats. Plus, you can lay down in the Volt's rear with more ease than the Prime's.

The gen2 Volt did shed a lot of weight. Perhaps keeping it 4 seats would have meant a little more weight saved, but then Chevy's customers said they wanted more than 4 seats in the Volt. The new fifth might only work for adults when there is no other option, but is there.

The Prime will likely have the same 52mpg rating as the gen4, going from Toyota's comments. The extra structural weight for a fifth seat wouldn't be enough to drop it below 50mpg. Then again, Toyota's comments might have been too rosy, and the Prime is already lower than the gen4.

 

lol, take off the volt glasses!

 

Really, saying the Volt's mpg isn't low compared to what the other 95+% of the car buying public is getting means I have some bias for it.

I truly do tell people the Prius is a great all around car. Yet many do not heed my advice. So better to get them into something 40+mpg than something with under 30mpg.

 

Some like to lay across the bench.