People know the Prius as the taxi / Uber car, but most of the ones on the road are getting on 10 or more years old (I think 2012 was the year with the most Prius sold). So, what are the Uber drivers going to replace the old cars with? There's about 1 million Uber drivers in the US and >3 million world wide. It's a huge market. I think the new Prius looks great but it's a bit too small in the back seat and trunk to be a taxi / rideshare vehicle. It would make sense for Toyota to make a next-gen taxi, with more headroom and comfort in the back seat, and bigger trunk - a new Prius V! Any rideshare drivers here? Thoughts?
A new Prius v is very unlikely. The original went 10 years without a redesign, and there simply isn't any need for it in Toyota's line up. Japan was its biggest market, and that now gets the Corolla wagon. Toyota also sells a couple of smaller sized hybrid minivans there. In the US, there is higher profits on the SUVs. Which is why we don't even get an ICE Corolla wagon.
I get that SUVs sell better here but they are overpriced and get less than 40mpg in city. With gas prices pushing up again I would want something that gets 50mpg and has enough space for back seat passengers. The Corolla cross hybrid somehow gets even worse MPG (37 combined) than the Rav4 hybrid. Nothing really beats the old Prius as a city car.
Back in 2019, that was the case in NYC. When I returned just a few months ago, they were gone. RAV4 Hybrid became their replacement.
A new Prius v would have the space but not the 50 mpg. The old one does only a little better than the current Rav4 hybrid. I'd expect 45 mpg from a new Prius v. It's wake was some time ago. A Taurus took its place for police cruisers and taxis, and even that is gone now.
The main issue with SUV's is the high threshold needed to get in when carrying a heavy box or piece of luggage. A lot of older folks find that difficult. It was easy with the original Prius v.
And Toyota sells a Corolla Touring Sport(wagon) for those needs. Just not in the US. Since they cancelled the Prius v here before ending the model, we very likely aren't going to get it. Maybe that will change if people stop buying SUVs, but a lot of older folks do because they find getting themselves in and out of them easier.
The Prius V should be with us today as the Scion hV or something like that. But Toyota isn't into running a value brand anymore; they seem to think they can squeeze us each for the likes of a RAV4 or Venza instead.
Thought Scion was started as a youth brand. Either way, hybrids were a no for the brand. Didn't jive with amortized engines and transmissions going into its models. The iQ might have been the highest tech offering. From Toyota; the rebadged Mazda2 might have had the most up to date engine. At least its transmission was a six speed. The reason why the C-HR we got didn't have the hybrid option is because it was intended to be a Scion. The Prius v would have been huge in Scion. I mean in physical size. Most of the brand's models were subcompacts or something sporty(ish). The v was almost a foot longer the biggest Scions.
There's plenty of cars that were drawn, built and marketed for the young and active and somehow developed a huge following from consumer reports-clutching retirees. See Subaru Forester. At least a couple of Scions on that list, too. Good points about hi-tech vs. low-tech as a brand rule and also about the size, though i think that one would have slid.
It definitely slid for the xB. According to the Wiki, Toyota was hoping to attract young buyers in hopes of them moving up to Toyota or Lexus. Seems many of the young buyers Scion did get moved on to different manufacturers. I did look at the xA, but that was because the US didn't get the Echo hatchback.
Toyota was very dumb on this matter . Had a 2013 Prius and a 2012 Prius V. Prius was a bumpy ride and no legg or trunk space and prius V was was just perfect ride on bumpy Quebec roads with a lot of interior space. I woud have made a Prius V prime with a 6 seats optional would have been a huge succes IMHO. I like my 2020 Prius prime I just bought this year except for the trunk space.That was the raison imho for the chevy volt failure, which was technolgicaly advanced with double of prius prime range: the small interior , weird front end etc
Oh man, I like the Scion xA (Toyota Ist) even though we got the Echo Hatchback. It’s small and spacious like Toyota’s version of the Fit.
There was a six seat Prius v. It never made it to North America for the same reason the Mazda5 did poorly. With MPVs like them, it was carry passengers or carry luggage. Which works in other countries, but not the US. That would also put limits on the battery for a PHEV. The Pacifica Hybrid loses the ability to store the middle seats for the battery. A Prius v wouldn't have such space available.
I believe the ‘Prius Alpha’ was technically a 7-seater, though certainly more comfortable for 6, I’m sure. It’s too bad the 3-row Prius never made it across the ocean, it would have been a very intriguing vehicle and I probably would have bought one. I love the versatility of carrying 6 or 7 people on occasion when needed (for short distances, etc), without suffering the the high price and inefficiency of a full-size SUV or van. I can’t justify that for my family of 4, just not logical for our needs. I always appreciated the Mazda 5 for the same reason, but not being a hybrid (and minimal tech on board overall) it would have been very difficult to go from a fuel sipping techy Prius to a relative gas hog dinosaur in the Mazda 5… though having a 6-speed transmission in a mini-minivan is kinda cool. I miss driving stick sometimes (a rare “feature” these days…)… but I digress.
Neither needed nor happening, I think, because, as others said, there are so many larger hybrid alternatives.
It was called Urban Cruiser here, pretty awesome car I totally wanted one but they stopped selling it and tried to replace it with the shitty Agya, now they have the Raize which seem quite ok but it looks funny because it looks like a shrinked RAV4
