Prius PHV to end production this month of June 2015?

that's a worthy goal - but whether or not it's a worthy trade-off is questionable. Look how such goings-on caused air cooled traction cell heating in the Leaf - when "fit better" means that these cells are closer together. Crossing fingers that such configurations won't result in excess heat, in very warm environments - which, results in premature capacity loss.
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Why? Toyota didn't use that passive approach; they employed forced-air instead.

 

The Fusion Energi had its pack repackaged for higher capacity a year or two ago.

 

i thought the mid cycle refresh was done, with no battery change, smaller, larger or more compact?

 

None in the Prime.
Ford had rearranged the cells in the Energi pack to fit the existing case. Fixing the Prime's battery packaging will take more effort.

 

why i'm having difficulty understanding the last paragraph of post #60

 

If Toyota goes with a 6 year or longer generation cycle for the Prius Prime, 2021 or later can also have a midcycle refresh. That is what Ford did with the Fusion, but then they didn't want, or could, spend the funds on a redesign, and then they will eventually cancel the model in the US.

 

all that - just to have production skuttled. What a pity
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second mid cycle refresh in 2021, new model in 2023?

 

I would ask if they went down to 20 miles EV if they could they totally hide a 5 or 6 kWhr battery.

 

Looks like the battery change happened for the 2017MY, and this generation is on its 7th year while continuing to 2020. Then we may get a Mondeo wagon, Outback competitor, to carry on the name. Some posters at Cleanmpg have spotted one in the US.
Report: Ford Fusion to Live On as a Subaru Outback Fighter | News | Car and Driver

As for hybrid batteries, the new Explorer and Escape are using liquid cooled Li-ion. The Escape pack is one third the size of the NiMH one in the previous generation.

Isn't the Prius on a 6 year cycle?

The original Prime likely had a fully hidden battery. If it had 20 miles, which is comparable to the Energis of the time, I don't think Toyota USA would have pushed for more range.

 

17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22?

 

The Energis had 20 miles of EV range when they debuted around the time of the PiP. Though, they did burn 0.0 gallons of gas per 100 miles on the EPA test. The larger pack capacity has the Fusion up to 22 miles now. Plus there were some other changes; the overall efficiency of the car increased a little bit.

The Prime is about 7.5 inches longer than the PiP, and less than an inch wider. Deduct space for the independent rear, and there isn't much more space for the battery if you want keep it totally hidden like the PiP. It needs at least 20 miles of EV range, and more importantly for US marketing, the battery needs to be able to supply enough power for all EV driving. I don't see that happening with air cooling while maintaining the cargo space of a Prius with spare tire.

The battery can be better packaged in order to reduce the loss of space, it loses more than the C-max Energi did. For marketing, they won't risk losing the current 25 mile EV range to do it.

 

lose the irs

 

The space loss to it only matters if you insist on sticking to a tiny battery, and the gain may not appear if you are working with a platform designed for an independent rear.

Besides, an IRS didn't keep Hyundai from packing a PHEV battery right. The Ioniq hybrid cargo space is 0.9 cubic feet less than the Prius. The PHEV loses 3.5cu.ft. The Electric doesn't have IRS, but issues with weight may have played a part with that decision.

The Prime lost 7.6cu.ft. from the Prius. IIRC, that's worse than the C-max.

 

that seems high, it's only 3" above decks

 

so we need @Trollbait to define which prius it lost 7.6 ft from

 

Since the Prime doesn't have a spare, the Prius without is the one I compare it too.

 

makes sense.

i prefer to compare it to gen 3, for my own purposes. i could care less if it is 3" deeper, or has the old gen 2 tray.
i just don't want to lose anymore.

i don't know how many cubic feet my sons new rav4h is, but its not very deep, and the height is only useful in certain situations, especially if you don't want to block the view.