Featured Live Video 2017 Prius Plug-in Walkthrough - Periscope

brilliant! why didn't they think of that?

 

Only way they can do that is to gimp every Prius so PHEV wont get less space, they all will.




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What does chemistry have to do with 4 seat? huh? First car in the world with heat pump and solar charging for batteries, modified hybrid system to take advantage of both motors, large HD screens, Mirai seats, advanced adaptive LED headlights, standard amenities like heated seats, TSS+... nothing cheap about Prius Prime. I bet new model will be significantly more expensive than old Prius PHV - top end versions will likely go over $40k.

It is clearly their attempt to differentiate it from regular Prius as luxury Prius Prime, so you get luxury seating at the back, for better or worse.

Prius Prime will be very expensive vehicle, everything that they did for it was to justify more expensive price compared to regular Prius. Toyota is not a cheap brand, they dont want to sell cheap cars.

People looking at it at price level, there are many companies offering cheaper product - for instance, in the USA, Ioniq should be significantly cheaper vehicle, even if it is half size smaller, people likely wont realize that since they are not used to hatchback vehicles. In Europe it is different, since we already have Auris Hybrid that is actually same size of car as Ioniq and is significantly cheaper than Prius (in my country due to taxes, Auris Hybrid is $10k cheaper than Prius).

 

If it is taken that the middle seat was lost due to battery space requirements, it is possible Toyota choose an older generation of chemistry to save on costs. In other words, a cheaper battery that takes up more space. Nothing wrong with that. Car design is all about compromise after all.

If the four seats were just to make the car more luxury, then it is a path Toyota is taking that will make many potential Prime buyers disappointed. They wanted a PHEV that was like the Prius. An efficient, balanced family car that would work with three children. We still have to see the cargo and rear seat specs, but for a PHEV supposedly designed for the North American market, the Prime's four seats makes the Volt a more viable choice for shoppers that don't need the fifth seat, with those that do going to Ford or Hyundai.

The solar charging on that list is the only thing unique to the Prime. It is just a gimmick until we see actual specs for it.

I wouldn't think Toyota would want to be Lexus though.

If being more expensive and only having four seats wasn't a worry, why not put the modularability of TNGA to use and install a central battery tunnel to install more battery for range or keeping more cargo space or a spare tire?

In the USA, many people use a Prius as a family car, and actually have three kids in their family. The Ioniq isn't going to work for them. They wanted a Prius plug in that still would work as Prius for how they use it. Instead, Toyota made the Prime a whole different model with a different market target. One that normally has lower sales.

So PHEV shoppers in US looking for...
...a cheap one, will have the Ioniq.
...EV range with compromised rear seat, have the Volt.
...a family one that does much of what the Prius does, have the C-max energi, or the Fusion Energi and Sonata/Optima PHEV if they want a sedan.
...an entry level luxury one, have the choice of the Audi A3 E-tron or BMW 330e.

The stand out attribute of the Prime will be its CS fuel economy. But that is less of a selling point in the US as the car price increases.

 

i don't follow you. if they made the chassis big enough for the battery, wouldn't the lift back have more storage space and a spare tyre?

 

There are other reasons a PiP isn't an option for me.
But I believe if it was a viable option the load floor and fold down seat gap wouldn't be a deal killer to me.

I mean, how much REAL world functionality is that going to affect? You're still going to be able to fit a lot in the back, just maybe use some blankets as levelers occasionally. It's STILL a hatchback, you still get the functionality that offers, just with not the same load floor you were expecting.

And IMO for the increased power and battery range, that's a more than acceptable trade off.

 

Here's hoping they one day start to enforce some dealer standards as they are going to keep losing customers who hate their dealders. I am done with the "joe bob and bubba dealership" in North Austin... Luxury buyers will not accept the nonsense from most of their dealers.

 

all car dealers are the same. some are better than others.

 

well,35k Prime will fit in the middle of their lineup with pricing similar to Avalons. They have other more expensive vehicles so nothing new for the dealer.

 

I don't think the lost cargo space will actually effect cargo packing much. The loss of the middle seat is a bigger deal.

The Avalon still has a middle seat though. Plus a larger segment. Taking the Prius or Corolla, and making it fancier with a higher price, is following the path of Mercury and Buick. Only Buick is still around and that is because its rep in China. It sounds like the Prime should have been the next Lexus CT, but Lexus was the anti-plug mouth piece.

 

I have a couple of obscure questions that I haven't seen addressed elsewhere.

Is there a USB charging port in the rear compartment (cup holder area)? That would be nice for the rear passenger.

Does the rear camera display now indicate the path of the car as you turn the wheel? This is rather old technology, even Fords do it. But the Gen 4's don't. I know it can automatically park, (my Gen 3 does that), but I can park MUCH faster and it would be nice to see where the care is going to go based on the steering position.

Where does the map and traffic information come from? Would be nice if it could use Google or Waze for traffic. Would also be nice if map updates were not so much considered a profit center rather than a service. At least with the Qi charger, I can see my phone screen for that information. Would be nice to see it on the big screen, though. Speaking of that, it would be REALLY COOL if that screen supported mirroring for that information. Would make the above map questions moot.

 

Lexus CT sold well over 100k worldwide in its best year, so PHEV version of $50k Lexus Prime in would never be viable successor to CT200h. Maybe for next generation CTh, they will also do plugin in this sense? It makes no sense for USA though, since price wise, it would compete with GS. But in Europe, which much bigger spread between vehicles, it could be possible. I doubt it though, volumes are low and they dont do PR vehicles, not their thing.

 

tough for lexus to do a plug in after all the negative advertising, but who knows, the public has a short memory.

 

I dont think anyone but few EV fanatics know about that, especially those who dont visit 2-3 EV sites. But again, they would not do such car anyway due to low volume.

But... in 4-5 years, I could see them doing expensive performance plugin, because it could be high performance halo vehicle like i8 and sales would not matter.

EV zealots banging on Toyota for doing hydrogen instead of EV is pretty silly since Toyota probably has largest battery research department right now and are working hard on new batteries but thats another story and topic.

 

We understand scope all too well. In general, people don't pay close attention. They never get enough detail to be properly informed and they forget the few things they did know. To make matters worse, facts get blown out of proportion and dates get mixed up. It's an unfortunate reality we've had too deal with for years.

I've blogged extensively over the past decade and a half. It's fascinating to read that history documented as it was happening. You get a very different perspective from those looking back well afterward.

The EV stance is already quite distorted. Fortunately, a number of those who kept trying to stir the pot have grown silent. That's pretty sweet. I'm not going to let their efforts get in the way of what comes later this year.

 

Most plugins do not make any sense imo; Compare Side-by-Side

Other than enthusiasts, the chore of plugging/unplugging may get old very quickly for most people, especially if no access to a garage.

 

Fuel cell vehicles need a battery in order to function. Without it, the FCEV's performance won't be much better than using a Sterling engine for a car.

Having a large battery R&D department doesn't mean it is working on batteries that work well for plug ins. The focus can be on high battery power densities for non-plug in hybrids and FCEVs.

Yes, because people looking for a performance hybrid, plug or not, are going to look at a gussied up Corolla one.

Seeing how PiP owners have complained about the car having a smaller tank than the gen3, stopping at a station for fuel is seen as more of a chore. Plugging in daily hasn't stopped people from ditching their old phone, that might have gone a week per charging, for a smart one.