Any word on the Prius Gen 5?

In addition to your good suggestions (especially 4, 5 and 7), I want them to go back to the space efficiency of gen 2 and 3. The gen 4 is 5" longer than the gen 3 yet has worse rear leg and head room as well as less storage space, all for the sake of making it sleeker. Prius should be all about form following function like it used to be.

And, please, driver seat memory. Possibly 360 degree camera.

 

Turbo. LOL


iPhone ?

 

I reckon another 18-24 months - that's if they do another PRIUS.

I really think that the things you're suggesting will make it a non-PRIUS - they're not the reason PRIUS was brought into being. Increase the weight, increase the battery, increase the engine size - and the efficiency will just go down, down, down.

 

I'd like to see a choice of the standard 1.8L engine or a optional 1.5L engine (like the gen 1 and 2 had) for even higher MPG. With today's Li-ion battery tech, I bet it could hit 65-75 EPA MPG.

Also.....leather seats (fine "pleather")....in Southwest.... with no cooled seats....come on. Oh and Seat memory b/c when I get my car washed and they slides it all the way up it's annoying for a big guy like me

 

I’m not sure if they will have memory seats on Prius if the Camry didn’t even have it


iPhone ?

 

What OP is writing we already have (partly) in Europe, it's called Corolla Touring Sport. with 2.0 hybrid sistem.

Prius should introduce some kind of other inovation, that will be part of every future Toyota Hybrid. My list:
- Standard 6 kWh Li-Ion battery, to plug or not to plug it's a free choice. 6 kWh battery is still small enough not to intrude in the interior space, but it will get instant responsivness of 50 or more ponies. This would get HEV more comparable with BEV responsiveness.
- ~100 kW front el. motor combined with 1.5 three cilinder from Yaris Hybrid
- Solar panels, get the economies of scale and get the price down so that every Prius gets it without a shocker price tag.

Prime:
- Just add bigger battery (~12 kWh), layout should be under floor.

As I said if you are just looking for a Hybrid car, look at the other hybrid models in Toyota lineup, there should be plenty more option in the future.

 

Yes, the big question is whether they will go ahead with another generation of Prius. If they do, though, I think they could increase the engine size and still get great mileage. The current Camry Hybrid LE with a 2.5 L engine gets over 50 mpg.

Looks good but if they could make the gen 2 and gen 3 roomy at 175 inches length, why can't they do that again? I like a compact vehicle that uses space well.

A big question is whether they will make enough significant changes/improvements to the hybrid system to call it a new generation as they did with each new generation Prius up to now. As GasperG says, the Prius should bring new innovation to market or not be continued.

 

I have a feeling that the "designed by a committee" ugliness of the Prime may signal the end of the Prius. I got behind one two days ago in traffic, and oh my... one can tell that there were already committee choices in varying aspects of the regular Gen4 Prius. To slap the entire incongruous rear-end styling onto the Prime without re-doing the rest of the vehicle to at least fall in to somewhat the same scheme is horrific. On one hand, it was almost following something I've seen on some McLarens, but on the other hand - one should't try to mimic a modernistic styling cue if one isn't going to follow through with the entire project.

 

It doesn't bode good, when owners dis their cars...

 

150 mile bev

 

The market for a non-plug Prius is coming to a close. It's mission to spread hybrid technology throughout the fleet can be given a status of accomplished. Drawing upon that success to make Prius only available with a plug should be seen as the obvious next step.

 

Let the market decide?

 

They already have.

 

In your mind. In my mind Toyota's design for the gen 4 contributed to the broader issues leading to the drop in Prius sales.

I believe that part of the reason that Prius sales have fallen so much for gen 4 is that they got away from their original mission of efficiency and practicality in an attempt to appeal to a wider market. Remember the intro commercial of cop cars chasing a speeding Prius? Toyota would have done better appealing to (us) purists.

Ten years later I can't find a hybrid (and hardly any non hybrids) with the qualities that attracted my to my 2010 Prius. I guess I'm hanging on hoping that the gen 5, if there is one, gets me excited again.

 

what if gen 5 prius were a completely new body form, something really attractive

 

Gone? No. Upgraded to deliver a plug as a standard feature.

The balance of battery tech/cost improvements, combined with growing demand for PHEV offerings, that would be the ideal time to raise the bar.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or something like that, I've heard.
My wife didn't like the looks of the 06 Prius and chose a 06 Civic Hybrid instead. We still have it although it's been a mechanics special since 2013. She didn't start thinking about Prius until I went double down on a PiP.
Time will tell if my investment actually means anything.