Featured OH No! Toyota Might Ditch the Prius c, v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) and Plug-In Hybrid

I think it'd depend, I see a lot of people buy minivans that don't even use the third row. My parents have a minivan and they only use it for the cargo space and never use the third row (and the second row is mostly for their dog or when we visit), my neighbors only have 2 kids and use it for the cargo space. Also, I think coupes seemed to be more popular when I was a teen and in college (80s, 90s) because I remember getting 4/5 people in a coupe and climbing in the back of many small cars, ones that have much less headroom than the Prius. I wouldn't imagine someone climbing into the third row from the second row of a Prius would be much of an issue because there is a lot more room than those cars we climbed in back then. I can't imagine a 10 year old would have trouble doing it.

 

I rented a minivan rather than take the v when the occupants were 4 plus driver and the load was a weeks worth of beach stuff. The extra person was the decider. That and we wanted peace during the drive. There is a place for minivans. My son has one and there are regularly 6 or 7 people in it. When they flew to Disneyworld, they rented a minivan for 7 plus all the stuff you take with you in case it rains, in case the little one needs the stroller, etc etc.

Can I see any of those being done in a 3 row v, no way.

I go back to the 50s and 60s and packing people into a Ford Consol or a VW bug. Yes. For very short trips. No seatbelts or airbags. But to own a car/wagon/van for similar crowds for even hour long trips with the potential for 5 adults or grandparents or wheelchairs or just stuff you don't pack cars like you did in high school. Not to mention people have gotten bigger.

 

My point is very rarely do people travel with more than 4 people these days yet they buy minivans for their needs. If you made a slightly larger Prius v, that could meet the needs of a lot of people that currently buy minivans and the reason they do so is mostly for the cargo space. I see a lot of choices as not being ideal, a lot of the SUVs are too wide and too tall, the minivans are too big and you have some of the crossovers trying to fill the gap, some succeed, some don't. A third row Prius that was slightly bigger could definitely fit 6 or 7 people comfortably, not that I'd say it would be for a long trip unless you had a roof rack for the majority of your stuff but it could fit, especially if those in the 3rd row were kids.

 

The first generation, Scion xB sold well because it was just a delivery van with windows. But too many value-seeking, oldsters were buying them. They fixed that by redesigning into a POS.

Bob Wilson

 

I love our 2013 v. The extra space vs. the liftback (we also have a 2011 liftback) is substantial and makes the v our camping car (2 adults, 2 kids). The Rav 4 Hybrid looks intriguing, but the 25-30% hit in mileage would make a real difference when gas prices go back up. One potential plus for the Rav 4 Hybrid is that it looks like it's rated for 1500 lb. towing capacity. That plus the 4 wheel drive aspect may alleviate the mileage hit to some degree for those who need those capabilities.

 

Have you traveled with kids recently? My beach trip described above was only about 2.5 hours and the 3 each kids no bigger than 5' but no way the luggage would go any any roof rack mounted cargo box I've ever seen. 5 beach chairs, beach umbrella, sand toys, rafts, beach towels for 5, luggage and their favorite stuff. Expand that by 2 more people and the idea of even a bigger Prius does not work in my experience.

Now I am not saying that owning a Prius of some variety for 95% of the trips and renting the big ICE machine for the rest isn't a good idea. After all that is what I do. But expand the v by 6 inches and cram in another row of seats and I still don't see it meeting my 5% needs.

And the added weight would drop its MPG down so close to the RAV4 there would be no market.

The RAV4 Limited I saw had a roof rack, a MPG killer.

 

Nope, but I do a summer camping trip with friends where we road trip so I know about packing people and camping gear into cars.

As for the roof rack, I only mention it as an option for people who buy a van or large SUV or whatever for the once/year or once/5 years that they need the amount of space but still drive the car daily. Sure a roof rack is mpg killer but so is driving around a huge car when you don't need a huge car 95% of the time, which seems to be a lot of people.

 

I think it would be a shame to see the Prius v go away. I thought I loved my 2010 Prius hatchback, but after purchasing the v six months ago, it turns out I only liked the hatchback, but love the v. The ride is appreciably smoother, the passenger room great (my teenage daughter loves the reclining seats) and the cargo room allowed our family of four to vacation to Disney World. Our hatchback would have been unable to accommodate all of our luggage. My only hesitancy of switching to the v was the hit in gas milage, but it turns out it’s only been a 14% drop (49 MPG for the hatch vs. 42 for the v). For us, that’s more than acceptable given all that we’ve gained.

 

At Costco yesterday we had our white Gen2 and in the next row two white v's...they've got a good market share here it seems.

 

I live in a small semi rural community of maybe 2500 homes and there are probably 20 v's in evidence. Many retired, Few families. I'd say the average owners age is 60+. A car that is bought and kept. I see far more hatchbacks and few Cs.

The nearest COSTCO is maybe 55 miles away and once every two months our v makes the trip with 4 empty coolers and comes back full. (Been a member since Price Club days. My well worn card still says Price Costco.) A run that could be done with a hatchback too but with less paper products. Or a RAV4.

I've seen v taxis all over the world. There is a definite place for the wagon. But is it enough for a total redesign if they have to do a complete chassis and can't use an existing platform? Can the compliance costs be covered? Is the factory space better used for RAV4s? That is what the Toyota executives get paid the big bucks to figure out. One group of enthusiasts isn't going to sway them.

 

Tons of v taxis in NYC last weekend we saw Hamilton.

 

For those who could read french there a Canadian review of the Used car resale best value car and Toyota Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v waon) is number one regular in the canadian black book is no even on the list.....Meilleures valeurs retenues 2016: encore Toyota... et le Jeep Wrangler - Autofocus.ca

 

When gasoline goes back over the $4/gal mark again, and it will, you will see much more interest in EVs and PHEVs.

 

Not from Toyota. Don't even know if the 2nd Gen PIP is even a go other than speculations. Even Honda's marketing are talking about a 40 miles phev in 2018.

 

With 20+ cent kwh, the PIP makes no sense here in NY.

 

Solutions to reduce smog-related emissions make sense.

 

wait, you don't believe direct quotes from toyota about next gen pip, but you accept honda 2018 phev? from the marketing dept? who also doesn't have a bev in the usa? the company that killed the accord phev?

 

Sure we do, they said its delayed, you can't delay something that isn't a go.
Gen 4 Prius Delayed Until Late 2015 | Plug-in Late 2016 | PriusChat

They could cancel it, but that is doubtful, they have devoted a great deal of engineering to the project already.

Definitely could be 2017 instead of 2016 though. We don't have details on what is different from the gen IV.

 

Re: PiP2 - Apparently Toyota and others are lobbying in CA for more green HOV stickers (other thread).
I would think that's what Toyota needs for PiP2 to work. Then Canada, TX few other places have nice incentives for PiP2.

Re: OP - Struck me that threatening no PiP2, c, v might be a lobbying ploy.

 

let's face it, you can't give this stuff away in this environment. you have to pay people to take it.