Here's why the Prime has 4 seats

Thanks for digging. There's lots of decision factors easy to overlook with so much change.

The interesting tidbit I came across was the upgrade from 2.2 to 3.3 kW for charge-rate. That equates to replenishing double the capacity in less double the time. (4.4 kWh = 1.5 hours, 8.8 kWh = 2.33 hours)

That new charger is in the area where the 5th seat would be.

 

I wonder why Toyota has so low numbers considering passenger/load capacity?
When I read that the gen.4 Prius is supposed to have a 60% more rigid body,I thought load capacity would go up,but the exact opposite happened! !
If I compare a normal VW Golf to a gen 4 Prius the the Golf has 540 kg of load capacity while the Prius only has 340 !
Those are German specs,but in general not one single Toyota can keep up with VW,BMW or even Opel (GM) when it comes to load capacity!
No matter if it's a hybrid or not .
I hope Hyundai won't put Toyota to shame when they reveal their Plug-in .
Officially they allready have,but no matter how hard I am looking for pictures or videos of the Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid,I can't find any !

 

sounds like someone didn't do their homework when redesigning the prius chassis.
agree tho, it is what it is. we'll see how sales do, not a lot of 4 seaters in the bread and butter car market.

 

Toyota has always won every challenge regarding hybrids...
(up to now)
It seems to me that this Prime was not intended to be a challenge anyway, since they prefer FCV and bashed Plug-ins.
The tech evolution with this PiP looks as they want to lower its sales even more, crippling the rear seat.
And we don't know the price yet.

RIP PiP.

 

I hope it flops, I want a major discounted one a year from now... like my rav4ev.

 

hybrids are one thing, and plug ins another. it sure doesn't look like they're much interested. i'm just glad they made another one, i hope they don't quit.

 

540 ? Maybe with the rear seats down ....

 

And I thought it was so one could conceive a child in a Prius.
haha

 

"Touch & Go" instead

 

Load capacity has always been that way... I would guess it has to do with Toyota under-estimating theirs and Germans over-doing it, just like with luggage capacity where Golf is way over-rated when you actually measure the space.

There are many pictures of Ioniq Plug-In, it is same as regular Ioniq look wise. It has 8.9kwh battery. They claim better performance than Prius in USA but same in Europe... I am thinking it will get less real life mileage but lets see.

It is also Auris Hybrid competitor in Europe, similar size, rear space and cargo room, and price likely too... except they dont have touring model. I would expect Ioniq Plugin to be significantly cheaper in Europe than Prius since it competes with Auris in pricing so plugin cant be double the price.

 

I think I heard the next gen plugin will resolve all issues. 130 mpgs, 60 mpg minimum, full trunk space two passenger (bench seat in back to fit 1 dog comfortably) .

5th gen also breaking mpg barriers. 4 seater and 60 mpg.

6th gen might be a bicycle.

/badsarcasm

 

Well it's a Volt/Fusion competitor and not a family car.
So probably shares sales with those vehicles.
I am betting Toyota knows CA PHEV HOV prospects and if that's a "go" sales will be good.

We are all hoping Toyota could do for Plug_ins what they did for Hybrids...make it the best car anyways, and oh by the way, it's a 50 MPG hybrid in case you missed it due to the spacious interior.

At the moment, maybe Chrysler will be first to make plug-in "invisible", hiding the batt in the minivan's stow and go seating compartment.

 

4 seater seems really odd. Biggest user of Gen 3 Prius in Australia seems to be TAXIs or Govt - each of which wouldn't be interested in 4 seaters. Maybe Toyota wants to leave that market behind. But then, families wouldn't be interested in 4 seaters either.

It probably wouldn't worry me, I live alone, and 99.9% of the time, it's only me, with one or 2 passengers 0.05%, or 2 small dogs the other, 0.05% of the time.

Except that resale could be a problem, trying to sell a 4 seater in a few years time.

 

According to the piece in autoblog, the 3.3 kw charger would fit in other places, my guess is it would take a little cargo area, but not much. It was done for efficiency and cost. If they improved chasis strength for a potential 5th american passenger that cost would be passed along too.

5 Things to Know About the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Plug-In Hybrid - Automobile

I have no idea if this is correct, but it sounds like they could do a mid cycle refresh with a 5th seat if this strange consumer requirement changes ;-)

 

If Jay says so but 50 MPG that's really 21.13 Km/liter, hard to see that as a target

 

Don't have a dog in this fight because I will likely never buy a 2016 Prius, but I still don't understand this obsession with 5 seats. The GEN II and GEN III LB hybrids do not hold 3 normal sized adult passengers in the back with anything consistent with of comfort. Know because I have tried it many times and the 5th would rather ride with someone else...just doing a quick breakfast run.

 

well ... it's all about the future little Prius Chatters.

 

You have to remember the US is toyota's biggest market and most profitable market. Engineers know how to do both metric and english. They don't really compare, but the gen IV got a "magic number" in japan.

Gen IV prius
EPA 52 mpg combined
Japan 40km/liter (94mpg)

Gen III prius
EPA 50 mpg
Japan 32.6 km/liter (77mpg)

 

https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2016/03/103356_2006_reat_seat.jpg

Respects, but that is what we call a short time deferral in my business.