Toyota studying 7-seat US Prius

Finally!!

It looks like they read this site.

5-seat Prius v is a niche vehicle. 7-seater is a soccer mom-mobile.

 

I do not think they can just transplant the Prius HSD into this vehicle w/o upgrading components.

 

they could use one off Highlander?

 

Just put the D*** Camry HSD into the F***ing Sienna already!!! GRRRRRRR!!!


I feel much better now ; )

 

...which in Toyota-speak means it could likely happen.
Is that the same thing as a definite possibility? Sounds pretty weak to me.

 

they did... nothing is changed.

with it getting only slightly worse results than CT200h and CT200h being tested as real world virtually the same as Prius, i think people will be positively surprised with its mileage.

 

car is already built, it will be selling everywhere but NA, so there are no huge costs involved... just Toyota seeing if people would actually buy one.

 

you are not confusing it with 7-seat Prius Alpha?

They probably did not bring it US b/c LiIon battery and it was too small for avg 'merkin

 

sp, the article stated Toyota is looking at different platform.

 

Hy High has V6 gas engine ... too big for this proposed 7 seat.

2.4L would be very close.

A hybrid Sienna? Purpose built hybrid is doing much better than copies of conventionals ( Prius outsells Camry hy ). They'll usually spring for the conventinal and say 'I didn't want to pay the hybrid premium'. I've heard that from family members - Camry hybrid not cost effective, better to buy regular Camry.

 

Sounds to me they're trying to look at many different possibilities. Let's just give them time to work out the details. Meanwhile, we should continue voicing our concerns and interests here, as I'm sure PC is a major source of consumer market research that Toyota have, and a very reliable source at that.

ps. note also that this article also got the Prius V confused!

 

And Chrysler is breathing down their neck with Hydraulic hybrid minivan

 

A true 7-seater hybrid will compete not only in the minivan market but also in the big-nice person SUV segment as well. And that's a pretty huge market from what I can tell.

 

ok, a parallel thread with Kens "Prius A". but ya, no 7 seater here is a big mistake, no doubt an attempt to boost Highlander sales.

 

Yep.

There are some people who absolutely must have a third row or believe they do and if they cannot get it in a Prius the next best for mileage and that is a hybrid highlander, which costs tons of money and still only gets 27 mpg.

The camry and altima hybrid powertrains are pathetic, they should be pulled off the market for shame. Price premium is significant, increase in mileage paltry, and reduction in trunk space significant.

Maybe on paper, but honestly. Chrysler? I don't think they breath down anybody's neck.

If the hybrid highlander can do 27/27, now put it into a lighter 7 seater with less power, not awd, you're looking way into the 30's.

 

Maybe they should just make an Atkinson version of Venza's 2.7L 4 banger. Its got a lot of oompf for even our big Venza. Of course the Atkinson version would lose about 25% of its HP. Or even supercharge the 2.4 and make it a Miller cycle. That should drive even a loaded hybrid Sienna.

 

Don't they have to put it in production first?

 

I don't get all the knocks against HyCam in this thread. I think its a great car and gets great mileage for its size and weight and comfort. Yes, you can get a low end 4 banger for a lot less, but the HyCam comes with a lot of the same great tech that the Prius has, and if you compare to a V6 SE or a V6 XLE, the price is reasonable (the SE is just a few hundred less, the XLE is $3,000 more). You get almost the same power as a V6, but with mileage in the mid to high 30s, plus the proven reliability of the Toyota hybrid system and PSD. I will acknowledge that if I were buying today, I would definitely give the Fusion and Optima a look.