new prius test car spotted

[Phase]

Originally Posted by JSH

I'm not at all surprised that the RAV4 hybrid outsells the Prius. The RAV4 is Toyota's best selling vehicle in the USA and the 2nd best selling vehicle in the world. Midsize crossovers are the best selling segment in the USA. Meanwhile sales of cars are in freefall.

I can see Toyota offering a "coupe" style 4-door sedan but I don't see any reason to call it a Prius. We have a Corolla Cross and Corolla Hatch - no reason not to have a Corolla Coupe. The Germans have made sedan, coupe, 4-door coupe, convertible, and wagon versions of their compact offerings.

There is nothing sporty about a Prius - I just don't see Toyota trying to take that angle again. Remember the Super Bowl ad with the bank robbers using a Prius as a get-away car? Toyota tried to talk up the independent suspension in the current generation Prius and call it sporty but nobody believed it and a 121 hp mid-size car with a CVT just is not sporty.


That said - the test car in the picture has a hatch.

Tesla model s also has a hatch trunk. But it’s still a sporty coupe. No one’s calling a model s plaid with a cd of 0.20 a hatchback

Main thing I’m curious about is the new Prius epa numbers. Obviously a slightly better hybrid power train but the lower drag should automatically increase the fuel efficiency. I’m curious to what cd they are aiming for with their final Prius. Realistically I’m going to guess .22 since 20 and 21 are usually with ev cars that can do a true flat bottom and no front grill

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Phase

Tesla model s also has a hatch trunk. But it’s still a sporty coupe. No one’s calling a model s plaid with a cd of 0.20 a hatchback

Main thing I’m curious about is the new Prius epa numbers. Obviously a slightly better hybrid power train but the lower drag should automatically increase the fuel efficiency. I’m curious to what cd they are aiming for with their final Prius. Realistically I’m going to guess .22 since 20 and 21 are usually with ev cars that can do a true flat bottom and no front grill

Personally I would call the Model S, Prius, and cars like the BMW Gran "Coupe" a liftback. None of them are coupes as they all have 4 doors and by definition a coupe has 2 doors. They also aren't sedans as sedans by definition have a trunk not a hatch.

Beyond idle curiosity I don't see the fuel economy of the new Prius actually matters. Yes, it will be interesting the tricks used to get there but going from 55 mpg to 60 mpg is going to save someone driving the average 14250 miles per year less than 1 gallon of fuel per week.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Phase

The rumors are that the new prius is going to be sportier and a “ coupe” style car and drop the traditional hatchback. They are trying to get buyers interested in the Prius and to make it look better since sales have dropped big time. Even the rav4 hybrid now outsells the Prius hybrid

Historically, a 'coupe' is a two-door, hardtop, with no B-pillars. All-glass greenhouse, when viewed from the side.
From the 2nd-gen Prius on, they've stuck with the 'Kamm-back.' It's a component of their efficiency, as was true for both of Honda's Insights.
If they went to a notchback, they'd lose interior volume, and shoot themselves in the foot, aerodynamically.

[Phase]

Originally Posted by JSH

Personally I would call the Model S, Prius, and cars like the BMW Gran "Coupe" a liftback. None of them are coupes as they all have 4 doors and by definition a coupe has 2 doors. They also aren't sedans as sedans by definition have a trunk not a hatch.

Beyond idle curiosity I don't see the fuel economy of the new Prius actually matters. Yes, it will be interesting the tricks used to get there but going from 55 mpg to 60 mpg is going to save someone driving the average 14250 miles per year less than 1 gallon of fuel per week.

If they can somehow get their combined epa mpg in the low 60s or even mid 60s, I will be very interested in getting rid of my Ioniq for the new Prius and eco mod it the instant I get it. Since Toyota tends to do better than sticker mpg while Hyundais tend to do worse for some reason.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by JSH

Personally I would call the Model S, Prius, and cars like the BMW Gran "Coupe" a liftback. None of them are coupes as they all have 4 doors and by definition a coupe has 2 doors. They also aren't sedans as sedans by definition have a trunk not a hatch.

Beyond idle curiosity I don't see the fuel economy of the new Prius actually matters. Yes, it will be interesting the tricks used to get there but going from 55 mpg to 60 mpg is going to save someone driving the average 14250 miles per year less than 1 gallon of fuel per week.

This is sort of the point I was trying to make in my earlier post. Why would toyota continue to have a prius and camry hybrid if they both look similar, cost similar, and get similar efficiency?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

This is sort of the point I was trying to make in my earlier post. Why would toyota continue to have a prius and camry hybrid if they both look similar, cost similar, and get similar efficiency?

As a halo car and to claim they have the most fuel efficient car on the road?

Also to take advantage of the fact that the general public doesn't know that MPG isn't a linear scale so they see 60 mpg and think that will have significant savings vs the 50 mpg Camry.

Personally I don't see a reason to keep selling the Prius in the USA but if they are going to continue making it for Europe and Japan they might as well send it our way too.

I do find it interesting that the Prius and the Mirai are the only cars that don't have a 2023 version listed on Toyota USA's website. Maybe it is going away or maybe they are going to skip the 2023 model year and go straight to 2024 with a new design.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by JSH

As a halo car and to claim they have the most fuel efficient car on the road?

Also to take advantage of the fact that the general public doesn't know that MPG isn't a linear scale so they see 60 mpg and think that will have significant savings vs the 50 mpg Camry.

Personally I don't see a reason to keep selling the Prius in the USA but if they are going to continue making it for Europe and Japan they might as well send it our way too.

I do find it interesting that the Prius and the Mirai are the only cars that don't have a 2023 version listed on Toyota USA's website. Maybe it is going away or maybe they are going to skip the 2023 model year and go straight to 2024 with a new design.

If it were profitable, why would they skip a year...?

I vote for the same car with different names in different markets. Camry hybrid in US and Prius everywhere else.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

If it were profitable, why would they skip a year...?

I vote for the same car with different names in different markets. Camry hybrid in US and Prius everywhere else.

I'm not talking about not selling the Prius for a year - just skipping a model year and going directly from 2022 to 2024. Companies do that sometimes when a product launch is delayed. The Audi A3, Acura MDX and Nissan Pathfinder all skipped from 2020 to 2022. Nissan launched the 2022 Pathfinder in February 2021.

[kach22i]

Makes sense that they might skip a year, and also introduce more than one model of the Prius, don't they have that already?

https://twitter.com/kaokana4/status/1573854802693525504

[JSH]

I can't see Toyota doing multiple Prius vehicles. They already tried Prius as a subbrand of hybrids and it didn't work. Then there is the fact that manufacturers are steadily discontinuing car models as consumers shift to crossovers.

Yes, at one time we had the Prius C, Prius, and Prius V. The Prius C was a hybrid version of the Yaris and the Prius V was a wagon version of the regular Prius