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i suppose the deep space would be good for a donut

 

But neither has the shape and utility of my Prius v. I find that shape so handy and am willing to forgo a few mpg for that cargo carrying capability. Now if my wife would have a RAV4 or similar, I could have a EV sedan. But after her having the minivan during the child raising years, that probably won't happen.

 

Yeah, really wish they kept the Prius v for another generation and gave it PHEV and BEV trims.

 

put a plug on the v and i'm in.

 

Not really. You can fit a dozen in a box on the seat next to you...easier to grab and eat from there, too.

Mike

 

C-max / similarly-sized to the Prius V, came as both hybrid as well as plugin .... & it too, is being killed off. (sigh)
Maybe both are victims of low gas prices & people's preference for pickups & suv's.
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I think Ford always intended for the C-max to be a stop gap measure. It is an ICE model that was converted to be a hybrid and PHEV, and the compromises show. The real mystery is why the Prime has those compromises.

We should be hearing details about the Escape PHEV soon.

 

hoping Toyota answers w/ a similar RAV version
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Seating in c-max is good in the back which is a problem for a good number of plug-ins, but have you seen the cargo area? It’s much smaller.

Lack of a practical plug-in with good cargo space I think is what some of us find wanting.

 

The C-max had been out in Europe as a plain ICE model in Europe for years before the US got the hybrid version. Converting such a platform meant settling for just shoving the batteries in the cargo area. Working from a blank slate, with the advantage of previous experience available, the Prime manages to lose as much cargo space as the C-max PHEV.

The Prime could have been an awesome PHEV, but the new Prius, and TNGA, was not planned with the possibility of fitting large battery packs nor hydrogen tanks for that matter.

 

That was our hands on estimate as well when we looked at these vehicles. Disappointing from a cargo perspective.

It should not be a problem in most two car households to have one of those two vehicles. But we like one of our two vehicles to have Gen 1 plug-in Prius-like cargo space and accessibility for family trips.

Agree about TNGA. Hopefully Toyota rethinks this for the next generation Prius lineup as their Prius hybrid sales wane and plugins continue to grow worldwide.

 

I think you meant gen2 there. Unless, you only need the space of a compact sedan for all your hauling.

 

No, correct as written. The Gen 1 PiP cargo space is superior to the Prime and C-Max.

The Prime deck/cargo area fits significantly less space for us than the PiP. PiP cargo space is actually quite good and the flat deck and dimensions work well for us.

 

Oh, you bought into Toyota treating the PHEV as a separate model. I see the PiP as a gen3 with a bigger battery and charger.

In defense of the Prime and C-max, they both have a battery of twice the capacity of the PiP's, and corresponding longer EV range. I think Ford did a good job for cargo area with the shelving and all, considering they were basically throwing the battery into the hatch of an ICE car. The Prime could have been like the PiP, if not for short sightedness in the design process.

PS: I actually missed you saying plug in.

 

or, the pip could have been like the prime, for the same reason.

 

But those nickel metal hydride batteries are a lot bulkier per kwh than lithium, so I guess you'd lose quite a bit more rear hatch space if the pack had been made larger, Plus the range would probably get dragged down from the extra weight. Of course it's all speculation now. Water under the bridge. Hopefully tomorrow will bring greater things.

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The PiP is actually a lot like the C-max. The bigger battery was simply stuffed into the hatch space. It is just in using a smaller battery, less space was lost. It happens that the lost space was equal to the under floor space and spare tire with the battery size used.

I suspect Toyota was planning on a smaller battery for the Prime in the beginning, and the design process was too far along when they realized they needed a larger battery.

The PiP uses Li-ion batteries.

 

Oh! Mixed up, I was thinking of the early prototypes that Toyota let us drive around for a week or so.

 

Agree if PiP kept stuffing more battery capacity it could have endedup as a C-max cargo situation. But as it was, it worked out well for people like myself and I suspect several others here on Prius chat. Like Bisco who notes 85-90% EV use, a great hatch space is a lot more valuable.

At the time of purchase we only needed the kilowatt hours delivered and the flat hatch and cargo space was a lot better for our needs than the C-max.

 

i believe toyota could have stuffed 2 more kWh into the pip, had they put more thought into it.
lust like they could have had a full hatch in prime if they put more thought into it, or as trollbait said, planned ahead, instead of adding later in the process.