PRIME TRUNK SPACE

wow, 200 posts on prime trunk space? must be a sensitive subject.

 

people have bodies to move, trunk space is important.. people are a lot fatter then they used to be..

 

The roof box is the solution for the once a year time I need more space. The other 50 weeks of the year it works great


iPhone ?

 

Finally someone is being realistic about the trunk space instead of rationalizing it...like I have seen MANY folks do here. Every time I have tried to bring it up in the past I was always shot down..but could not defend myself because I don't own one. Not to bring up the Hyundai Ioniq Plugin discussion again...but it does look like Hyundai did a good job on battery packaging ( look further up in the thread for discussion on this...not worth reposting ).

 

Not sure what you mean. Prime is a hatchback. That shape is a strength, offering the ability to lower seats for more cargo room. Not doing that, instead cramming everything behind them, completely defeats the design's purpose.

 

You've been a member for a couple of years, so you may not have seen the numerous discussions of the past (starting around 2010) about the "poor" design/layout of other PHEV manufacturers. Battery intrusion into the hatch area, uneven floor with rear seats folded, only 4 seats, no spare, mass charging would lead to local brownouts (still my personal fav), etc., etc., etc., were HUGE talking points here against those pioneering models. Now?

 

Seriously John?

 

Yes I do estimate Prime "true" cargo space is less than Gen2. Good thing you are coming from Gen2 and not Gen3 (the king of small car cargo space).

My Gen2 replaced a mini-van, and until we got a new mini-van, we often used a Thule roof top box on the Prius. In those days Saris had a wonderful roof rack making it so easy. Unfort Saris stopped making those racks, but I think you might be able to duplicate now with Thule or Yakima.

The day I get a plug-in is the day I can get a plug-in with cargo space...which could be a used PiP, which retains the Gen3 space for the most part. I was like only person who liked PiP concept.

 

Why must Prius fit an absolute of the past? With all the other body choices available and becoming available, no opportunity for market adaptation makes no sense.

Remember, there's a Prius CUV being tested. There's a Corolla plug-in hybrid in the works. Camry, RAV4, and C-HR could all undergo the "Prime" upgrade.

What's the problem with Prius changing?

 

au contraire.

 

no problems changing for the better. otoh...

 

Remember what Toyota said about their audience changing... Prius owners who shopped for a growing family back then, now handing the car down to a child and looking to Prime as a vehicle for their new found freedom?

 

that's me, but i would still like a full hatch.

 

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that Toyota had a few choices.
1) delay releasing the vehicle until the battery could be better integrated into the body
2) Use a smaller battery
3) Get they thing out and continue to improve it over time.

I'm happy they picked #3 vs. either of those other two options.

This is something like the third thread today around choices...I work in an industry where we're always making trade-offs and with every choice, some people will feel you went the wrong way. I see cases that with hindsight it is clear we made the wrong choice but I know we did the best we could with the data and constraints we had at the time. I'm willing to assume the same is true at Toyota.

 

Continuous improvement is our approach in my profession... software design.

 

I was on one job, drafting in a consulting engineering office, and one of my coworkers one day, said "we're moving backwards". That stuck in my head, scary/heady stuff, and I suspect he was right.

 

That's the older generation. That isn't necessarily what the newer generation deems a priority. Toyota is trying to avoid falling into the same "generation" trap that GM did, finding their formerly-popular product now something only appealing to a rapidly shrinking audience. Keeping an offering aligned to match up with middle-market, where high-volume sales are dependable, requires adaptation... changes over time... the kind some former buyers may not be interested in.

Regular Prius clearly focuses on the younger crowd, those seeking to have a standout look. Remember, there is no longer Scion choices available to serve that purpose anymore.

Plug-In Prius has moved up, where the unlikely-to-be-needed middle seat was abandoned in favor of taking on the layout found in higher end vehicles. In fact, that's exactly the reason why such a large display is offered. That is why also having lots of height in the cargo area isn't a priority. Dropping the seats for hauling lots of cargo is no big deal for this audience.

Don't forget how many other "Prime" hybrid upgrades could be offered in the not-too-distant future. They have their own audience too. A full hatch would be a priority in that larger new model of Prius.

 

agreed. i'll be looking around for something a bit more old fashioned when the time comes, if there are any manufacturers still interested in us old farts. perhaps hunday hasn't caught on to the pepsi generation yet.

 

I still expect that Toyota will build the next generation frame to better accommodate the battery but then the question will still be do they put in a bigger battery, a spare tire, more trunk space? I bet a poll would find passionate arguments for why each of those choices was the right one and plenty of people will criticize whatever they choose. We need less criticism in the world.