Featured 2G Prius Plug-in Reveal - March 23 @ 9:10 am EDT - Live Stream here

The doubling of the EV range was about what I had expected although I would have liked to have seen better. For this car to do well it will have to be aggressively priced as there are 4 other PHEVs on the market at the moment that will be direct competitors and some more that are likely to come to market soon. The C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi both have around 20 miles of range but the C-Max Energi is probably going to be dropped from the line and may or may not be replaced, and the Fusion Energi is due for a model refresh that will probably see an increase in range. The Hyundai Sonata PHEV has a range of 27 miles and the Volt, of course is the segment leader with 53 miles.

I like that Toyota said they plan to sell the Prius Prime in all 50 states but then they said that about the PPI when they initially announced it but backed off later. I live in California though so I am sure that Dianne will have many to sell.

I think I also saw on the comments from the Chief Engineer that the Prime will have a spare tire. If that is true then this addresses one of the biggest omissions from the PIP.

I am kind of Neutral about the Prime only having 4 seats since I think 3 people is the most I have ever had in my PIP but I think this is a misstep on Toyota's part as it removes one of its major advantages over the Volt.

I think the car looks good from the rear but personally I find the front really ugly.

All-in-All I think that the price point will have to be really good to keep me in the Prius family

 

I'm disappointed with the Gen 2 PIP. Additional EV range is nice, but the loss of the 5th seat is a deal breaker. I came from a Camry, and I routinely use the 5th seat to drive kids to practices and carpool with other families to games, which is still greener than driving two green vehicles. Big screen looks nice, but imagine a big 11.6" screen showcasing crappy Entune?

Volt was a deal breaker for me for the same reason, but made even worse by the battery tunnel. During school drop-off, you don't want to open the left door.

 

no difference at all ! consider manufacturers are buying batteries now @ $150 per kWh. Sheeez - what is that for an 8k+ traction pack .... ~ $1,300 extra? That'll leave plenty of room to sell inexpensively & still turn a profit.
.

 

The reason for that should be obvious now... It was speculated that gen-2 offered so many improvements, it made no sense to proceed with rollout of gen-1. Today, that was confirmed.

 

Going with a lighter frame than the ICE platform of the C-max will help with efficiency.
The battery packaging should get better or the EV range increased. I voted for 25 miles on the Prime because i expect some range improvement from Ford.

The gen2 Volt base is under $34k with delivery. If the Prime base is near that, then I'd say Toyota is milking the tax credit. With four seats, I think the Volt's 53 mile EV range will be more attractive.

I hope the Prime starts under $30k.

By EPA measurements, the gen4 gained 5 cubic feet of cargo space over the gen 3. The Prime might end up with the same space as the gen3. Though, being in France, you already have a better selection of hatchbacks than us poor Americans.

A spare tire could counter the reduced cargo space for some.

The Ioniq PHEV may be arriving sometime after the Prime, and 27 mile range of the Sonata is likely its floor range. I'd expect a range increase with the C-max, or its possible replacement. I think the Fusion Energi would be better served by staying with 20 miles range, and going with smaller packaging. Reduced trunk space of the non plugging sedan hybrids often gets sited as a turn off.

 

Maybe some don't realize it but Prius is NOT rated for towing at all . . . . whereas Tesla's X is ... up to 2.5 tons IIRC;


Most folks don't mind (after driving 4hrs) a 40 minute stop to eat & pee ... so the 40 minute charge is no big deal. The outlier might just be the one who demands a fast pee ... and no food stops ... just eat eat it on the drive. Not too relaxing ... but hey, ok.
..... and your 100mile tow trip? you'd be OK making it round trip if you chose not to charge when you got there. But I understand the hand wringing as we're all different with different concerns. Some of us would have never made it in a Calistoga wagon back many generations ago .... no Taco Bell stops along the way. Still things are getting better.
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You misunderstood what I said. I was talking about having your Tesla towed 100+ miles back to civilization after it ran out of power with no charge stations within a hundred miles.

 

My family & I don't do long stops on 600+ mile drives. We may have 1 stop where we stop for an hour or two, but the rest is quick pee break, quick fill up. I like that filling up gas only takes...5 minutes.

 

In practice, yes. In reality, there's a good chance Tesla will hit the 200k tax credit limit near the launch of the M3. If history and their reservation process is any guide, they'll build the models reserved by employees/current owners first, then build the higher option models, then build the lower option models. I'm not sure what level the tax credit will be at by the time a $35k (Assuming Elon sticks to this and doesn't go with an inflation adjusted $35k) M3 is produced, but it may not be $7500.

 

12 volt outlet in the rear storage compartment?

 

Agreed. The good news is the phase-out only starts after 200k US sales (not worldwide), is calendar-based and takes at least 5 quarters, so anyone reserving is likely to get *some* credit. It may not be the full one when they roll out the base model, tho.

 

how bout 120v?

 

yes, it's either under the battery, fastened to the steering wheel, or on the hatch.

 

And this is why it is good that different manufacturers are coming out with different plug in models.

Is there enough ground clearance to have it drop down from the underside like on a truck?

 

not from what i have read on the 3g, and 4g even less. they couldn't even fit the battery below decks, but hey, surprise me!

 

A look at rear blinker in action at 1:39 secs! Chromeless Player -- ANTV

 

3 min is too short. Did you include off ramp time parking time, on ramp time, bathroom time? More like 10 min, maybe 15

 

I prefer to take the model s out of town over the pip. Until you try the experience, be careful about knocking it

 

Only an idiot would get in that situation as one running out of gas in the middle in the desert