I long since traded my 2017 Prius Prime for a Model 3. But here in MA I have seen a ton of Primes (great incentives here), and the main reason for trading in my old Prime was the pittance of an EV range. I always told myself that "hey, I don't have as much EV range as a Volt, but I sure am much more efficient!" but after the 25-30 miles or so the engine would turn on, and the fun would be over. Imagine a Prius Prime that got 50 Miles of EV range AND 54MPG? I know the Clarity comes close, but their hybrid system is..weird.
I imagine a Prime that gets 45-50 miles of EV range, has much more room for carrying large items, has 4 wheel drive when I need it in the winter and better acceleration than most cars on the road, and more cameras that make it easier to park. Toyota has been selling it for a year, but not in my state. It would allow me to replace both my 4Runner and my Prius Prime. Next year I will be looking at either the RAV4Prime or the Tesla Model Y
volt was a loser, clarity was a loser. you can't have an engine and a huge battery at a realistic price, sorry. stick with the tesla, or get used to the engine coming on. the industry is not moving towards phevs with more ev range, it is oving toward tesla
But with Toyota's Kaizen method, I don't see them making the jump to full EV soon. Their Lexus UX EV released in Europe is so hamstringed (short range, pitiful "fast" charging). The seemingly next step is to increase EV miles somehow on the next Prime while keeping its efficiency crown - but at this point I wish they would just go full EV.
i don't see them moving toward ev anytime soon either, no profit there. but there's no profit in the prime either, and they only make them for carb credits, so more ev miles would just be another profit drain since people don't want to pay retail for prime. on top of all that, battery tech hasn't advanced enough to fit more miles in a similar package, which would then require a major reworking of the rear end
I would definitely pay the retail price if the next gen has larger battery and qualify for $7k fed tax credit Non refunable tax credit is not the same as cash refund but for those whose tax liability is more than that amount, it for sure works out.
of course you would, but toyota cannot live by cali alone, that's why they moved to taxas and what if the msrp is 50k?
The current generation PP is not even in the same category of cars as Type3. If they increase the EV range on PP, the price will be close to Rav4Prime, $40K and up and without Toyota rebates. At that point, people are going to compare the price of PP to Type3... which would you choose?
Buy a Model Y. Ride in one the other day. Let's just say a bit smoother and quieter than our 2019 Prime.
I do believe we are for quite an upgrade when it comes to Prius Prime in future - my prediction is 2024/2025; depends on battery tech above anything else. IMHO it won't be pure EV as bZ4X feels like a beginners test bed for EV - it's an SUV, so it will automatically sell like crazy, there is a lot of room, no need for massive optimization, and it looks pretty much like Venza with some Subaru magic added to the mix. I believe Toyota would love to release a lot more EVs in next 2 years, but they might take it slow as their desired implementations might not be ready, and their manufacturer capacity has its limits as well.
