All New 5G 2023 Prius Reveal - Livestream @ 11/15 11:30 PM EST

Front end a little less Darth Vader and little more Gen2 smiley face

 

To be fair they improved the design in 2019. The rear taillights in the 2016-2018 were a disaster

 

Okay, number 2 on my dislikes:

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The new Prius also comes with a panoramic view moonroof which can be fully opened to create a sense of freedom within the cabin.
PHEV models are equipped with a second-generation solar charging system that achieves a more efficient conversion of solar energy into electricity. This generates power equivalent to driving up to 1,250 km per year*4*6. Electric power generated while parked is used to charge the drive battery, with the system not only supplying electricity for driving but for air conditioning and other functions as well. Electric power generated during driving is used to supplement the auxiliary battery system.
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Again, most of America lives where there is snow.
But, the distribution of Prius' sold, is more biased towards sunny areas.

Still, having solar cells on the roof of a car (/vehicle) that gets snowed and iced on, is stupid - plain and simple.
Even Aptiva isn't close to really solving that issue.

For people that aren't familiar with real winter weather, and ice, it is not uncommon to have to "chip/bang" at the ice, to break it, to get it off the hood, or roof. And, except for Alaska, iirc, it's illegal to drive with ice on the roof. Simple reason, the ice breaks off the roof, the ice goes crashing into a vehicle behind, the ice causes vehicle damage to the vehicle behine, and all to often accidents, and possible death.

 

The new Prius comes with Advanced Park (with remote function), an advanced driving support system. It enables easy automatic parking and exiting from parking spaces in a variety of parking situations, and with operation outside the car via a dedicated smartphone app, the car can also enter and exit parking spaces remotely.

Safe and reassuring driving

• The new Prius is equipped with a Toyota Safety Sense monocular camera at the front, a rear-facing camera for the Digital Inner Mirror, and an in-vehicle drive recorder. This setup has a clean appearance without a sense of the cameras and wires being retrofitted. The data is stored on the ECU to avoid data corruption and other issues associated with SD cards and properly manage important camera data.

Built in dashcam, I like that feature and hope it makes it to the US version. App based parking like Hyundai too it seems.

 

My only gripe with my Gen 4 is the passing power. I go on a lot of road trips and if I have to pass a big rig I feel totally unsafe with the lack of power. I wonder if they remedied this.

 

...is the rear split window, something that's been part of the Prius design since Gen 2, still there? I can't actually tell...

For comparison, the Gen 4 PHV claimed 2.9 km/day average, which would be 1059 km/yr. So, this isn't much improved.

The justification will basically be "it looks sportier", and the smaller sidewall can improve steering feedback. (I doubt they're putting enough brake under there to need anything bigger than 17s, even on the PHV, which has the most power and weight and therefore the most need for big brakes in aggressive driving.)

In any case, the rumors were that 1.8 liter cars would get 17" base.

Snow tires do already exist for the rumored size, but, yeah, they ain't cheap - like you'd be over $1000 before rims, TPMS, and mounting even.

The rumors were of a larger battery.

Yeah, they basically copied VW's battery packaging from the old Mk7 Golf GTE/B8 Passat GTE/Mk3 Audi A3 sportback e-tron. Which they should've done the first time.

So there's already such a system on the Gen 4 in Japan, which also gets snow, so I'd generally say they know what they're doing - especially as they implied the Gen 5 solar roof option would be stronger (the Gen 4's solar roof option wasn't strong enough to meet rollover standards in the US). Really, it depends on the coatings/materials that the solar panels are behind, for how they'll hold up to it. (Consider things like panoramic sunroofs, which also get ice and snow, though.)

Also, off-topic, but Aptera's hail-testing their solar panels, as well.

 

I have no snow, I used to but as of a year or so ago no more snow for me! I'll be happy to use the solar charging. It will cover 25% of my yearly work commute, not too shabby.

 

Also, the following is vague,

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Second-generation TNGA platform
Additional reinforcement throughout the body has increased rigidity and improved quietness.
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How much more rigidity?
For the Hybrid, there's now a moon roof. Is that an option? Moon roofs reduce the upper body/roof rigidity. So, additional structure (and hence weight and cost) get added.

Plus, I don't know how popular the Gen5 Prius will be. The effects aftermarket support.
The my Gen4, I have braces from the front of the radiator support, all the way back to the rear bumper support.

 

I can't either, but I did see that they have a new digital rear view mirror. Makes me think the split is gone and they did the mirror camera thing to make up for it.

 

Maybe you could still use compatible 15” rims, or 16”, 17”, if needed? What’s the tire OD (sorry, haven’t been keeping up)?

 

I wonder if the ledges are toggles, can be up or down?

 

Looks very nice, can’t wait to see one up close!

My impressions…
- why is hardly anybody talking about 6-second 0-100km/h (0-60mph)? That is nearly RAV 4 Prime territory.
- dash layout is nice, with more conventional horizontal screen, and it appears the cluster is finally in front of the driver (never bothered me, just an observation). Physical HVAC buttons should help acceptance, as I know many don’t like soft buttons for these basic features.
- love that they have heated & ventilated seats! (No sign of memory seats yet though…)
- console looks ok - nice that they finally have electronic parking brake like rest of the vehicles on the road. (Though still not 100% sold on an “electric” brake option being the emergency measure… but I guess modern brakes rarely fail anyway so it is primarily for parking)
- 50% range extension is awesome for us Canadians, as that will push it into the larger federal incentive (>50km range). This extra $2500 should help reduce any expected price increase over the outgoing model.
- intrigued about the solar roof - will it make it to North America this time? Would be cool if it does… though hopefully they offer a moonroof alternative as well (especially if solar does NOT come over). If the post above saying 1200km/year is accurate, that is decent energy capture.
- IMO, I think 19” wheels are wasteful, as they will be expensive, and probably have low profile tires. Presumably, these cars are unlikely to come with a spare, so not a fan of anything which increases chance of a flat. I think 17” would have been adequate here, but clearly they are trying to appeal to the “cool” crowd with this generation, with the wheels, acceleration, and “normal” styling…
- is anyone intrigued about how the hatch opens? I don’t see a handle or ridge to lift - will electric hatch with remote opening be standard (and only way to open)…? [edit: @19:25 with the silver car it looks like there may be a grip in the black area just under the brake light bar, next to the reverse cam?]
- it does seem like they will be launching the PHEV at the same time - it looked like the yellow one is a plug-in? Hard to tell, but that looks like a “PHEV” badge on the back (@18:35) and what appear to the the wide charge door on the rear right panel (like the other Prime models). Though I thought the Prime very was going to have slightly different exterior? Maybe that rumour was incorrect.

Overall, it does seem like they are trying to market it as a “normal” car, and less quirky, similar to the Gen 3 (but with much improved performance, etc). People won’t be able to laugh about how slow Prius is anymore (~6 seconds!) , but could be fun surprising people who assume it is “just another Prius” when they first hit the streets.

Anyway, look forward to hearing more details in coming days/weeks and getting one in my driveway eventually.

 

Fwiw, I did exactly that 17" Blizzaks in front, and 15" Blizzaks in back, for a while.
The 17" Blizzaks where hard to get, and very expensive. Plus, it was for a Sports Car (with ABS) that I drove only in good weather in the winter (I hated to see it sit for 5+ months in the garage). I still have, and drive, that car. No more tracking the car, though. Too much time/effort.

 

Rumors were 195/50R19 - that's about 675 mm, or 26.7".

So, equivalent sizes:

195/55R18
195/65R17
195/70R16
195/75R15

 

...they photoshopped out the tire sizes on the press photos.

(There's also an absolute photoshop disaster in one of the interior photos, in the driver's side footwell.)

 

many thanks, that’s gold!

 

The Toyota web page has "prototype" listed for the plug-in and Hybrid. The only difference is the added charge-port on the passenger-side (and color).
And, I do mean only difference. At least one of those pictures is photo-shopped, and/or from CAD-design. If you download the pictures, and go back/forth between the two, you can see they are based on the same photo. Fwiw, it's impossible to get two real vehicles that well aligned in real life, for pictures. At best, some post-processing tweaking would be needed.

From:
World Premiere of All-New Prius in Japan | Toyota | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website



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The Gen5 has Black Fender Liners, for both the front and back tires?
The fender liners are in the renders, and also on the vehicles shown on stage.

 

For what it's worth, as someone with a 2006 Prius who is looking to trade in for the safety features, improved mileage, bluetooth, etc: will there be sufficient supply that I don't have to pay thousands over sticker? PHEV will be 2024 likely, so I can wait, but I still want to know if there is a path to availability that prevents dealerships from slapping on a markup and having no option but to pay much of that due to shitty availability. I'm close enough to work that my daily commute is within range even without convenient plug-in options. Of course I'd like more. Of course I'd like moving to meeting US tax incentives. But availability and stupid shit that adds unnecessary cost (like will there be a reasonable tire size option that is available) is paramount. I cared more about the looks and performance when I was younger. Now, I just want an option with solid reliability and durability, safety features, and Prius like mileage and cargo flexibility. There are other options, but delivering this car in an affordable package and price given everyone is struggling with the new tax credit rules, is primary.

I sort of like the look. The seats look a bit cheesy with the red patches. But these are minor issues now that I'm an old fuddy-duddy.

 

Also 新型「60系プリウス」詳細入手！2.0L初設定&大径ホイール採用、TSSは第3世代に | MOBY [モビー] (linked in the first rumor thread) suggested 195/60R17 for the 17" size - basically rounding down instead of up.

...and, just as I found snow tires for 195/50R19 on Rakuten, I'm finding snow tires for 195/60R17. (Quite a bit cheaper than the 195/50R19s, too.)

...also I'm finding mud tires for that size, apparently it's a Thing on some Japanese vehicles. Bodes well for off-road Prius builds I guess?

Also worth noting: a larger diameter tire, assuming the same width and sidewall height, has lower rolling resistance than a smaller diameter tire. So, the 195/60R17s should actually perform decently - larger diameter than the old 195/65R15s, but slightly smaller sidewall. The 195/50R19s... that's a bit odd. Larger diameter than the old 215/45R17s, and basically the same sidewall height, but narrower which worsens rolling resistance but improves aerodynamics.