Will we ever get 7-seater in US?

IMHO I suppose it would be an option for some but not for my wife and I. When we were shopping for a new car this summer all the seven seaters were simply too hard to get in the third row seat area. If they do offer a seven seat model Prius v I hope there is an option for a five seat model as well.

FWIW most of our passengers are seniors like us...

 

What you linked to is the Gen 4 getting a towing rating.

Considering the current Prius v is near the end of its life, I doubt there'll be a three-row model introduced to the US (and, my guess is that they decided that a third row would be too tight for Americans, and that the Li-ion battery necessary for the third row would have increased the costs too much at the time).

And, I personally doubt that there'll be a direct replacement for the Prius v, due to overlap with other products in all markets, combined with Toyota Europe's apparent preference for hybridizing Europe-produced models. The US Prius v, I'm pretty sure its replacement is already out, the RAV4 Hybrid.

For the US, Toyota's solution if you want a three-row hybrid from them would be the Highlander, I guess. Alternately, there'd be the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (which is a PHEV).

 

no towing in the united states. 7 seater is possible someday, but who can say if or when?

 

A hybrid Sienna might do well in the US.

 

You do realize you could import the 7 seater as parts and retrofit a v however you want.

Many of the Think City ev folks ordered the euro spec rear seat and retrofitted their car.

Also Toyo would be foolish to eliminate the v just because gas prices are low, it would be something shortsided Dodge or GM would do.

 

that would be quite an accomplishment. would it be street legal?

 

Importing the whole vehicle as parts and reassembling it? No.

Importing the parts that make a 7-seater different? Technically no (the hybrid battery is an emissions system component, converting to the Li-ion battery is tampering with the emissions system... but if you improve the emissions, it might be OK by at least EPA standards, but not CARB), but effectively yes. Note that it may not be legal depending on state to put someone in those seats, though.

 

Depends on which state of the union you live in.

Here, there are 2 counties where it would be illegal, Missouri, throw a 2 cycle diesel and pickup bed for all they care.

 

ya, that would be a bummer.

 

A Hybrid Sienna would be a bummer ??

 

no, a converted v that got into an accident and insurance wouldn't cover.

 

Here in the US that is mostly a myth, sort of like your car warranty being fully void due to engine mods,
half the vehicles here are modified, can't say I've seen a single non-modded classic Jeep in years.

Liability cannot be denied, injuries also can't be denied, but car repairs could be if they directly relate to damage to the modded portion of the car.

 

The general way things go in the US is, if you do something that your insurer doesn't like, and they find out when you make a claim... they'll pay out the claim, and then drop your coverage.

In some other countries, modifying your vehicle and not reporting it to the insurer is a crime, but in the US, it just doesn't work like that.

 

If I were designing a second generation v, and no one who speaks English is, I would go for 3 rows of 2 seats. Ideally all the back seats would be removable, for folks like me who want cargo space. Sliding doors would be nice. (Basically I want Mazda 5 that gets more than 24 MPG)


We will see if they make a second gen v with Gen 4 Prius parts.

 

You want more than 5 seats.

You want sliding doors.

Neither are my wants and each adds weight, complexity and cost. I'm content with the simplicity as it is. And with the size of the average family shrinking in the developed countries, 5 makes sense. Toyota already makes several vehicles that will meet the needs of the larger families.

With the third row seats, wouldn't you have to have a different floor structure than the current v thus you lose lots of the storage below the deck in the trunk that the V now has.

The hinge mechanisms for a sliding door has to weigh way more than the simple hinges of the current v. And then the demand for self opening and closing with that weight and cost.

Every item you add just adds to the supply chain costs, the spares inventory cost, the manufacturing cost, the potential for repairs costs, the training of mechanics costs and the repair "manual" documentation costs, etc.

Tradeoffs. Endless tradeoffs.

 

The Prius v actually already has provisions for a third-row seat, due to overseas models having it as an option.

The battery is relocated to underneath the center console to make room for it (and is Li-ion instead of NiMH, to fit there), on models with the third row.

 

Do you keep the spare tire and the two lateral storage areas under the trunk floor? I'd think you'd lose some of that as the floor would need to be strengthened to allow the seats to be crash worthy.

 

Looks like you lose the spare tire, but keep the under-floor cargo storage: