4th generation coming 2015!

It might be stated in some kind of EU measurement that doesn't correlate well with the US.

 

Yah .... like kilometers/gallon.

 

Current Prius Gen3 is rated 72.4mpg (EU regulated test cycle) so 90mpg would be around a 15℅ improvement depending on how you do the maths.

 

I happen to think Toyota ought to concentrate on making the new Prius the best it can be to entice more people away from from the top selling sedans that get no better than about 32 MPG combined. It needs a much better interior, better power to weight ratio and more nimble handling.

If Toyota mainly tries to appeal to the hybrid enthusiasts, the environmentalists for a little Winnie the Pooh Prius ( much smaller) liftback that gets high 50s or 60 MPGs ...

... then 10k or so Prius' sales a month in US will be considered 'very good' while Camry, Accord, Civic, Corolla, Altima, Fusion, Focus, Elantra, Sonata, Optima, Sentra, etc... conventionals continue to sell over 15k to 25k or more units a month.

 

Toyota to get next Gen Prius right since Toyota itself projected that Prius will outsell Camry by 2020. They may as well offer it in Liftback and Sedan to achieve this goal. Like the Look!

DailyTech - Toyota President Says Prius Will be Top-Selling Car Within a Decade

And while they are at it, don't forget this sleek AWD SUV;

 

Top seller for Toyota where? Worldwide? Japan?
Every time I see the newspaper's 'Drive' section or whatever it is in your paper, I'm reminded why Prius liftback doesn't stand a chance to outsell a Camry or Corolla in the US (or Civic, etc...) right now ...

this is typical newspaper 'teaser' pricing -

2014 Prius (liftback) Two - $20, 888 (1 at this price)

2014 Camry L (or LE?) - $19,888 (1 at this price)

2014 Corolla - $15,888

-----------
Typical Joe and Jane customers see ... oh, I can get a bigger and more powerful car (Camry) for $1,000 less than a Prius, or get something with about the same size and power for ... $5,000 less (Corolla).

This new Prius may start selling as a model year 2015, maybe and likely last 5 years, so through 2019, so this next gen Prius is going to approach top seller for Toyota, in the US?? Doubt that.

 

Thanks for sharing this Sergiospl, this concept looks very interesting but very little in the way of updates since then. I guess this will be aimed at the Prius V market but if the real production version looks like the concept, it could work for other folk who would generally go for a Prius 5-seater but could benefit from a 6th seat on the odd occasion. Why can't they just produce all these concepts

 

If someone was in the market for a Prius, why would they care what a Camry or Corolla sold for? Those are completely different cars with different purposes. When I was looking for a new car, I was looking specifically for a Prius. I wouldn't care what a Camry or Corolla sold for.

 

Based on the pricing, most are not in the market for a Prius, obviously. That was my original point of going against Toyota's prediction Prius would outsell Camry by 2020, but who's knows where they are referring to. All I know is Toyota sold over 400,000 camrys in US last year while Prius was probably more like 150,000.

 

More info for the Volt 2.0 next year.... Exclusive: GM planning lower-priced version of 2016 Chevy Volt - sources - News - 1330 WHBL Sheboygan's News Radio

Interesting that there's news about the Volt. This actually turns me off from the Volt altogether. Yes there's a strategy like the Prius did with the C and what not, but lower battery range than the current gen? Lower cost but not because of any technologies? Because of lower battery range? This defeats the purpose of the volt.

In fact, I'd rather GM create a more compact car, cheaper with the same range (and slightly new design).

This cheaper one could have 5 seats though...is this their strategy? lol Possibly instead of 38 miles straight maybe it's 28 which still would defeat the next gen Prius and current Energy Plugins from Ford.

Bah humbug though!

 

I applaud them expanding the Voltec family so soon.
I don't understand how you can be turned off a product because they add a second option. Why would you like the original option any less?

That said, I am skeptical and will wait till I see it.

 

I think I'm mainly turned off that this will be how they add the 5th seat Either that or there'll be 3 versions. They've always mentioned adding a 5th seat and a higher mileage one. But if indeed there is 3 versions and they all look identical, well...I guess it would be called a trim level? Imagine if they added a Prius Plugin with less range and then one with more.

I feel like they pretty much maxed (without compromising too much) with the Plugin that there was no need for it. We will just see!

 

That I can understand. I too have been disappointed with the direction particular auto companies have gone.
While the expansion doesn't diminish what is already available, it isn't what you were hoping for.

The great thing about competition for us, and the part that sucks for the manufacturers, is that if one company doesn't deliver, another typically will.
Sometime it just takes much longer than we want it to!

 

Would love it if they did this!

All future EV's of any type should come with choices as to what size of battery. Yes, the largest battery will sell the most units, but there is definitely a place for the smaller batteries. Remember, it is very unintelligent to carry around all that extra battery weight if you rarely need it.

 

Atkinson cycle without sacrificing power can mean only one thing, that under higher load it's not Atkinson cycle any more

Maybe they get away with higher compression (like Mazda) or they are changing compression ratio on the fly. Valvematic is already doing the rest.

Edit: Here are the details, looks like the Mazda way of higher compression:
Green Car Congress: Toyota introducing new series of gasoline engines with gain of at least 10% fuel efficiency; up to 38% maximum thermal efficiency

 

Sometimes? With the automotive industry, when hasn't it? Seriously. They always rollout in slow motion. Each new advance is loooong awaited by the time we actually get it.

You complain about slow expansion with the plug-in Prius, yet don't mention the very same thing happening twice in the past. We didn't get the Gen-0 model (Dec. 1997) at all. Instead, we got the upgrade 2.5 years later and called it Gen-1 (Aug. 2000). Then that rollout was internet-order-only for 2.5 years (until May 2002).

When Volt enthusiasts were making bold claims about mainstream sales by the end of year-2, some of us were shaking our heads in dismay. What made it especially interesting was the outright dismal of anything related to Two-Mode, which was GM's own recent attempt to capitalize on their much stronger market... trucks.

We all knew the car market would heat up. Pressure from traditional vehicles has been growing as the price of gas climbs and the efficient requirements rise. That meant anything attempting to appeal to those same consumers absolutely must match their purchase priorities. Toyota has remained true to that with Prius and has remained competitive. GM decided to risk offering something at a higher cost while sacrificing interior space and is paying the consequences as a result.

So, we look ahead to what will be delivered for 2016. Reading the blogs & forums for Volt, I find it ironic how many of the "second model" comments are exactly what many of us labeled as "trolls" were saying years ago. They are now endorsing those very suggestions they had once despised. The fear that our attempts to help progress along was really an effort to kill Volt. Turns out, we had studied the market and understood it better.

It had nothing to do with the engineering. It came down to basic economics. Automakers are a business. They cannot just build what they want, no matter how much hype that desire stirs. It's all about high-volume profitable sales.

 

john1701a - I enjoyed your piece and think you are "on target." I especially enjoyed your last statement: It had nothing to do with the engineering. It came down to basic economics. Automakers are a business. They cannot just build what they want, no matter how much hype that desire stirs. It's all about high-volume profitable sales.

If one reads back over these many pages of post, so many have expressed wishes for individual features that would not have "high volume profitable" appeal.

But I would fault Toyota for not keeping their core enthusiast energized, or as they say, "their head in the game." Someone will write and explain that is just Toyota's "way," and I see that it is, but ..... well for example, Ford has released in advance of the New York auto show details of the 2015 Focus Sedan, with details about the exterior, interior, and power options. It is anticipated it will make a giant leap in fuel efficiency.

That creates interest and excitement. Automotive magazines pick up the story, and "boys and men" save their coins to own a copy of the new vehicle. Toyota's silence, even if the G4 will be a 2015 or 2016, causes some to look elsewhere. There are a lot of very attractive and fuel efficient vehicles on the market, with fresher ones coming out every month. I just don't see that Toyota's business model is to keep their "base" in the fold. Most of us own G2 and G3 Prius that will provide efficient service for another year if we were to believe that the G4 will be worth waiting for. Brand allegiance should be worth something to Toyota. Perhaps, Toyota thinks just the name Toyota will avoid defections.

 

Notice how Toyota offers goodies as options rather than forcing everyone to buy them?

Features than draw interest and stir excitement as extras are fine.

 

Also, keep on mind that defections have an overall helping effect. It pushes other automakers from within, raising the expectation bar for the entire industry.

It's kind of like the positive effect negative publicity has.