New generation Prime

RAV4 Prime is now available and it is inevitable a smaller variant will later be too. Corolla Cross suggests the platform/approach. We know Toyota won't leave the market segment without a choice. Lots of other priorities to tend to in the meantime.

 

Many people passed on the hybrid Camry and other sedans back when the battery took up trunk space.

Some loss of space will be expected when putting a large battery into a platform not designed for it. IIRC, the Ioniq PHEV loses 3 cubic feet and the Rav4 Prime maybe 2. The Prius Prime loses well over 6 cubic feet compared to the Prius models without a spare tire. Without the incentives that made getting a P.Prime for less than a Prius possible, I think less people would have accepted the loss of cargo space and rear seat.

 

Toyota put the bench seat back in the rear because people weren't happy about having just two back there. Fixing the cargo area would be more involved.

Part of the appeal of the PiP, despite the short range, was because it didn't lose cargo space compared to the Prius of the time. I'm sure people bought the Prime, because it was a plug in. I'm saying more would likely have passed on it, if the deals weren't available. Some Prime owners didn't have a Prius before.

I chose without spare in order to keep it like to like. The Prime has just 4.8 cubic feet less space than a Prius with spare. What is shocking about the amount of lost space is that it is around what the C-max Energi lost in the rear. A traditional car that was converted into a hybrid, and then converted into a plug-in.

I'm sure the next Prius Prime will have more range, but they also have to fix the rush job that was battery packaging. The Rav4 Prime shows they can do it.

 

There was a technical reason for the 4-seater, load limit I believe? And that just evaporated??

 

It was load limit without additional reinforcing. I'm guessing the two rear seats got enough of a negative response for Toyota to pay for that reinforcing.

 

if you take away california fast lane and northeast huge discounts, what do owners truly like about prime?

 

I keep eying the 4Runner...

 

what would you do with it, change the oil?

 

It at least has enough ground clearance where he could retire the tree trunk.

But having owned one for years, the 4Runner is well done by Toyota.

 

Oddly enough, I really like driving in electric mode. Plus, my average of nearly 65-70mpg really cuts my fuel bill a lot. The last year I did 45k miles. Think about that in terms of fuel costs especially when I was getting about 29mpg before. I figure I'm saving about 200 a month on fuel over my older car that was a 2014. Not to mention time filling up all the time. I used to fill up near daily. now, i fill up every three days.

 

I like that if I keep it around 55 mph I get to work and home with 5% left... Do I wish it had more EV range yes.. but I think this car is the best of both worlds (EV/HV).

One thing I have to get used to is the glare off the 11.5" center display... that is a nit.... A long Prius driver

 

The next Prius Prime will be model year 2024 or later, to be available in 2023 or later. So, you're looking at at least three more years from now.

2020 model year was a nice refresh with the number of seats increased from four to five, and the 2021 model year was another nice refresh with the upgrade to TSS 2.0, which is significantly improved over TSS 1.0.

The next Prius Prime—2024 model year—may get a solid-state battery and a 100-plus-mile EV range, quadrupling over the current EV range. We'll wait and see…

 

So, the big question: which one is fake news?

 

Neither is fake news. The duration for a typical model generation is six years. However, this would have meant that the next generation Prius (non-plug-in model) would have been announced by now. Since it hasn't been, it means that the duration of the current generation has increased to at least seven years, probably due to COVID, albeit unlikely to be any longer. 2023 model year for the next-generation non-plug-in Prius and 2024 model year for the next-generation Prius Prime are the best guesses at the moment.

 

I do think you are right about the next gen being delayed but I wonder whether it will be delayed into oblivion. Covid didn't stop them from releasing the Venza and Sienna this year and the Corolla Cross, a Prius sized crossover, is expected to be released in Japan next fall and then maybe the States. If those can move along, I wonder whether it is market forces that are delaying Prius.

 

Usually the redesigned model is in the car shows around this time of the year. However, they have no car shows because of the COVID. There haven't been any news about a redesign either. Therefore, I expect a delay of about a year, making the current generation a seven-year-long one.

 

Studying Toyota's history, you'll find a lot of "doom & gloom" commentary whenever they focus inward. Rather than going for something to spotlight as a push outward to garnish praise... which many of the other automakers thrive on... they just quietly improve their offerings.

GM is the the prime example (an ironic pun), of this for plug-in hybrids. They flaunted Volt and mocked Prius. They did nothing to actually change their own fleet. It was such a colossal waste of opportunity, the entire program came to an end without making any progress. Look at their dealer lots now. Same old SUVs & Pickups, but more of them and not a single one of them using the technology.

VW is heading down that path a lot faster than people have noticed yet. They have an exciting new product, from the enthusiast perspective. Most dealers couldn't care less though. That extra time & money it takes to sell them doesn't show any promise of sustainable profit yet, so why bother? The culture of change GM was missing is absent for VW too.

Meanwhile, Toyota is pushing hard from within to advance the entire fleet forward. Dealers see the commitment. Dealers are witnessing firsthand the potential. Sales of Venza and Sienna will help to solidify those plans of ending traditional offerings. Interest in Corolla Cross is already stirring new opportunity. A variant sharing that platform could become the new Prius, an offering only available as a plug-in hybrid.

Take a closer look at those articles sighting reasons for Toyota's supposedly lack of vision. Notice how binary they are, that none actually address a means to achieve change? They claim short-sightedness. Their long-term only perspective is an endorsement for chaos, as history has provided many examples of. Sacrificing any type of transition plan for the sake of achieving some ambitious outcome which focuses on an ideology rather a path to achieve it is a recipe for disaster. At best, it is very high risk.

In short, delay for a next Prius is fine. Toyota is wise to capitalize on the opportunity this market stall from Covid has provided, as well as the obvious pause caused by industry & politics waiting to see what happened with the rollouts from VW taking place right now.

 

From Bestcarweb.jp, Dec. 9, 2020, plans for the market in Japan including an updated Aqua which was called the Prius C here:

"Toyota seems to have announced the 2021 product plan at a briefing session for representatives of its dealers in mid-November 2020. According to the report, there will be five new models under the Toyota brand next year: the Land Cruiser, 86, Aqua, and Noah, which will be fully remodeled, and the additional model, the Corolla Cross."