Report: Next Toyota Prius to be Longer, Wider, More Powerful
The rumormongers over at Britain’s Autocar magazine have lent a bit more flesh to the third-generation Toyota Prius, and they’re saying that there is going to be more to love—literally. According to the print-only article in their May 7 issue, the Prius will maintain its familiar teardrop shape, but swell by 10 centimeters in length and 3cm in width.
To compensate for the plus-sizing, the Prius’ engine is expected to move from 1.5-liters to 1.8-liters, giving about 100 horsepower. Despite the dimensional swelling, Toyota is pushing for a 12 percent surge in fuel economy and C02 emissions of just beyond 90 grams per kilometer.
With Honda confirming that it will expand its low-end gas-electric lineup with both a Fit variant and a hybrid-only model, the rush is on to get the new Prius into showrooms to keep both its sales lead and Toyota’s green-car halo. Concurring with earlier reports we’ve heard, Autocar says the next Prius will stick with nickel metal hydride cells (similar to the current model), but plans are afoot to bring lithium-ion cells by 2010, a move that should see plug-in variants come on stream around the same time. Sadly, still no word about a factory-offered convertible or limousine model.
Comments
Ducati Minor
The Prius may be a fun target from auto enthusiasts, truckers, and diesel fans, but I will go on a limb and say the small Toyota is an excellent small car and it is welcoming to see its sales strength maintain a steady pace. HEV drivers do want to make a statement by driving a vehicle distinct from the rest. That is a reason why hybrid derivatives have had a harder time of becoming sales hits after the initial premiere fanfare. Honda seems to have caught on.
While I am not happy to read the Prius growing in size, perhaps Toyota's plan is to move the Prius from a compact vehicle to the more popular mid-size class, thus mainstreaming it even more. The 2008 Prius has a (realistic) EPA combined rating of 46 mpg. A 12% hike would push that up to 51 mpg--which is far from bad. Being able to promote a real-world 50+ mpg hybrid can never be a bad thing. The one soar spot I see with this new Prius is the absence of the plug-in feature at launch.
Mena
Actually, it's considered a mid-sized car. Prius sales were down 14.5% in Feb, up 8% for March, and up 67% in April. About 65k units have been sold so far this year. Camry Hybrid sales have REALLY picked up and they're selling almost as many Camry Hybrids as Prius' (60k units). More Camry H's have been sold in the 1st quarter this year than Camry V6's. Toyota only sold 54k Camry H's all year in 07.
Tom
Make a SMALLER hybrid model!
Or better, a lightweight full electric!
Dane
umm.... who cares???? The people that drive these spaceships are what I call Lie-ber-alls.... They have this fixed conscience that they have always done the right thing.... Baby-boomer's... the worst group of people...
Meanwhile, since 1985 I have driven something sporty , practical and economical to drive.... VW Golf to GTI and now a Focus ST170....
If these nerds new what was cool, they would be driving a diesel Jetta, Golf or a Benz..... Years ago.......
Pete
Dane... first off, "baby boomers" and "lie-ber-alls" are not the same thing. This is almost too stupid a comment to bother correcting, but I can't help myself.
Second of all, I believe I read somewhere that a quite large percentage (half?) of sales are going to customers who identify themselves as Christians, a good number of whom are on the right side of the spectrum.
Third, VW and MB are not exactly the cars to buy if you value reliability above all else. MB's are not too good on fuel economy either.
Dane
Pete:
The people I see driving them in Chicago are just as I said....
And have you visited Evanston Illinois??? Land of lie-ber-als.... not liberals.... Lie is like a fib.. Like "George lied to me".... Play on words dude....
And as for my Volkswagen of 12 years... No problems... as for my Toyota of two years... Lots of problems...
By the way.... for every one 20 year Toyota around, there are 10 Volkswagen and Mercedes around...
I guess you just don't get it... and What does Christians have to do with anything????
Also.... The Lie-ber-als traded their Suburban in after having the last 10 generations... It was time for them to do the right thing.... Bless...
Chris M.
That's nice, Dane.
Ducati Minor
Mena,
I wonder who considers it a mid-size sedan, besides Wikipedia? The Prius wheelbase is three inches shorter, total length is about fourteen inches shorter, and curb weight is three hundred pounds less than a standard Camry. The dimensions are close to the Corolla.
The Prius is hardly, in size, in the category of the Camry, Accord, Malibu, or Altima.
Ducati Minor
And I'll care for the annual sales figures--they're the ones that count.
Dane
Chris M.
You are with me right????
Paul In Jersey
I hope they sell it with that "Smoke 'em if you got 'em, boys" package that's shown in this picture. I might buy one, then.
JHinton
Ducati Minor,
It would be the EPA and DOT that classify the Prius as a mid-size car. Car classifications are based on interior volume, not weight, wheelbase or outer dimensions.
Mena
You gotta start somewhere.
Justin
The Prius has more rear-seat leg room than a Camry. It doesn't have more hip-room. Three fat people won't easily fit into the back of one. However, it is definitely not compact on the inside at all.
Ducati Minor
It is on the outside and everywhere else. It's no mid-sizer. And, if I recall, don't the EPA and DOT consider the PT Cruiser and a number of small hatches as SUVs?
Texas_Dude
The current Prius looks terrible to me (and I love odd looking cars), but that concept up there looks nice.
Rip
nice to see discussions about which cars are best - from a fuel efficiency perspective. The conversation is changing and above all that is a good thing.
Dale Z
Dane, your comments are too stupid for words.
Mena
Rip,
The conversation is not surprising at all considering the article is about the Prius. What else would we be discussing?
JHinton
Actually the Prius is bigger than Malibu and the Accord is now a large car. The Corolla and Civic are quite a bit smaller
Model passenger/cargo/total volume (cu ft)
Compact:
Civic 91/12/103
Corolla 89/14/103
Focus 93/14/107
Mid-Size:
Malibu 95/16/111
Prius 96/16/112
Accent 98/14/112
Camry 101/15/116
Altima 101/15/116
Fusion 101/16/117
Large:
Accord 106/14/120
Sonota 105/16/121
Ducati Minor
JHinton,
No one cares about determination by interior cabin size. Outer dimensions figure--it is the standard by which the motoring press and industry determine the classification and targeting of automobiles. By the interior cabin dimension argument, a '59 Cadillac Eldorado would be a "mid-sizer."
It isn't.
The full-size class is made up of large sedans like the Toyota Avalon, Dodge Charger, and Chrysler 300. The Honda Accord and the Hyundai Sonata are not in that category. To put a Hyundai Accent with a Chevy Malibu is quite a stretch.
Anonymous
I'm deciding what to buy as my next car, I've had high performance hatch backs to date, so maybe the new scirocco or wait for the mark VI golf GTI?
Well looking to the future I want to be driving something now that will be credible in 3-5 years time... and old style technology is for the old-man brigade along with giant rear wings, furry dice and leaded fuel.
That leaves hybrids...not totally credible, what we actually need are plug-in electric cars..which GM and other built perfectly well in the 1990's and then scrapped because they were dumb / influenced by oil companies (see the film "who killed the electric car")....and where will the credibility come from? For example, Tesla is selling electric sports cars that will outsprint and out-handle a porsche boxter and is totally electric. And for petrol-heads that means maximum torque at any speed. And there will be more to come... you think Tesla won't go on to build other electric cars or not licence their technology..think again. Just like PCs made mainframe and midi computers old-hat...electric cars are a no-brainer and people will be desparate for them Who buys old fashion and thinks it's cool.?
I don't really care that much about emissions..all the worlds cars currently emit less than 4% of total CO2... what stinks is what stinks...Carbon monoxide, nitrous grunge, micro-particulates etc etc. who want that grunge>
So I'm going to be an electro-head and buy a hybrid as a first step because I want to be ready for the revolution in performance cars when they come...for example a fully electric Scirocco EV, 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds, top speed 150mph, massive acceleration at any speed and a 250 mile range... and plugs into the same socket as my fridge overnight. Less moving parts, less maintenance, higher reliability, cheaper to run, doesn't stink. And the mark II...styled by Apple...different configuration since we'll have a motor at each wheel (imagine the traction and handling .......out of this world)...now that's gonna be cool!
GB
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