okay, i see what you're saying. now that toyota knows we hate not having a 5th seat, and the raised hatch deck, it will be cheaper for the to go back to pip design than if they had showed it like the pip in the first place. that makes more sense. if the base is 30k before ta rebates, and the interior is same as pip, i'm back on board.
I don't see how having two of the big criticisms of first generation PHEVs, lost cargo space and 4 seats, doesn't keep it out of nicheville. I suspect the unveiled Prime is worse case in arrangement for Toyota to see which is more acceptable; lost cargo space or the middle rear seat.
they haven't asked, but i would rather the hatch space back. i use it way more than the middle of the rear seat. mu upholder is folded down most of the time anyway.
Know your audience. And in this case, also know what "nicheville" means. In other words, who is making those criticisms and how many meets the goal? Put it this way, ask what they are considering a Prime. Don't you think people will wonder what MPG will be when their commute is a lot further than 22 miles? My 39-mile commute with recharging at work... for a representation of what the 8.8 kWh pack will deliver... resulted in a 148 MPG. Won't that draw interest? Having that 17.6 kWh for that same commute would be 999 MPG. At what point is the cargo height more important than the vast length & width available compared to a sedan... or even to a regular Prius?
Middle rear seat I can live without. Never used in my PiP. Never used in my wife's Venza for that matter. We fold the seats down regularly in both cars if we need the cargo space. Although, typically, I use the PiP for hauling lumber regularly, I have put in very bulky items that required just about every inch of hatch opening. So I'm a little concerned about the "possible" loss of cargo area even though I'm sure Toyota will flatten what was shown in the prototype.
Hope you're right. I am thinking the prototype has about 5-ft3 under the tonneau and maybe 5-6 ft3 over the tonneau cover...which is Volt-like. The real big volume over Volt will be w/ seats down..that'll be no contest, but somewhat awkward unlevel floor.
I was thinking about the "prototype" Prime revealed and the comment made to Danny by the gentleman from Toyota. The Toyota rep suggested that the new plug in's battery was new and exciting. I initially thought that the battery layout we saw in the Prime reveal might not reflect the final battery size, therefore it was referred to as a "prototype". I held out hope that the car we will see in the fall might have a smaller and more innovative battery design. I think it is likely that although the finish of the hatch area might have been less well done in the Prime revealed than the one we will see in the fall, the actual size of the space taken up by the battery is most probably accurate. The car revealed didn't necessarily have to have a battery under the cover. The car was just there to look at. It wasn't ever driven in any kind of a test or demonstration. Why would Toyota make the space taken up by the battery any lager than what they expect the final version to need? The engineering of the battery was probably resolved long ago. They knew how much space it would occupy. I think that the Toyota rep was excited by the fact that the new battery was twice the size of the previous generation pip's battery. I think I need to get used to the reality of the decreased storage and focus on the many positives of the Prime.
I can definitely envision there could at least be storage cubbie spaces behind the wheels and such. Little like PiP with about 1-ft3 below the floor.
i can't get excited by the carbon fibre or curved rear window, but who knows, maybe that will attract some pick drivers.
Toyota wants to draw in buyers outside of the usual Prius interest. Making Prime different enough to stand out, yet still deliver on the Prius fundamentals, is the point. With a goal of phasing out traditional vehicles, you can't just keep following the traditional approach. This isn't a matter of conquest sales from other automated. It's trying to figure out how to get Toyota's own traditional customers to now choose their hybrids.
exactly, that's why i said it might attract the pick up crowd. they'd go for that sort of useless styling cue.
Head lights Tail lights Backup lights Turn signals Those are all useless styling cues... which come on every vehicle out there. Their uniqueness serves no function. The curvy windshield in back, on the other hand, provides an aerodynamic benefit.
For me it is the other way around. Since the image of this shape was copied in my mind to stay there forever, I find the straight lines at the rear of my PiP (and many other cars) a bit boring, as if the car is just a square box.
Yes, be very careful in watching such images, they can change your perception forever; there is no undo button...
Wait, I didn't notice it had a dimpled rear window before! It looks odd, but if it improves performance I'm all about it. I'm still not seeing where the carbon fiber is. Hatch, perhaps? I vaguely recall a discussion about it where someone said it reduced weight by like 2 lbs, and then I said "who cares, lower the weight of the wheels first". I won't be buying the Prime simply because I already have the PiP, and it's a fantastic car; with the Prime not adding enough features to prompt me to replace it. If the car has an uneven deck and lost seat, then I for sure won't buy it. My next vehicle will likely be a 2013 Leaf once the Tesla 3 and gen II Leaf is released. They should be cheap as dirt by then. I just hope fuel prices remain low until then.
You start out simple when extending rollout of something that had been a specialty to become something for the masses.
