Next-gen Prius coming in January with more power, efficiency

[jcgable]

Next-gen Prius coming in January with more power, efficiency

The current Prius is baked from a refined recipe that results in a roomy, practical and efficient vehicle lurking under an eco-statement exterior, or at least we thought so. Five years on, it's still the most popular way to conspicuously consume under the guise of saving the planet. Toyota hasn't been resting on the success of its green badge of targeted consumerism, so we're going to see a new Prius at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in January, according to Toyota President Watanabe. The 3rd-generation Prius will grow in size, and engine displacement will be bumped to 1.8 liters to increase performance. Despite the increase in size and sprightliness, weight will reportedly hold steady. Further changes are in store after the launch, with plug-in and Li-Ion updates to come.

(Continued)

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/29/n...ncy/3#comments

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Hmmmm, it will be interesting to see what figures the new Prius gets, seeing as this will set the bar in which the Volt will be judged by the public...

[E. Haskell]

I believe some of the Prius junkies are mad at Toyota for giving it more power and making it externally bigger. They would rather have a lot more fuel efficiency and lighter weight.

[vsd]

Originally Posted by E. Haskell

I believe some of the Prius junkies are mad at Toyota for giving it more power and making it externally bigger. They would rather have a lot more fuel efficiency and lighter weight.

Makes sense. If I were to buy a hybrid, I wouldn't need it to be any bigger than a Cobalt/Corolla, and I would want it to have the lightest weight possible for best possible mpg. I think it would be great if GM devoted a brand to making hybrids exclusively, and have them come in several different sizes to suit the needs of the most people possible. Buick is wasting space, maybe they could become that brand.

[plane]

I really wanted to post something in this thread, but the vsd thought patrol police are afoot tonight.

Oh well. Live dangerously.

I'll just add that the upgrade from 1.5 to 1.8 appears quite reasonable given the relative paucity of power in the current generation Prius, regardless of what the green weenies scream about.

[WWI Flying Ace]

I checked the links in the article to see the concepts...My God...they are so ugly...function does not have to look like crap on wheels...it makes my eyes hurt to look at them...if this is the wave of the future for cars, I am going to dip into the kid's college fund in a couple years so that I can afford the gas to drag my hot rod out of the garage and drive it to work one day a week, just so I am not driving a car that looks like THAT! Of course, at the approximately 7 MPG it gets and the $9 a gallon gas will be then, I will have to walk the rest of the week, or get a ride with a coworker that has a hybrid...

[PhishPhood]

Originally Posted by jcgable

Next-gen Prius coming in January with more power, efficiency

The current Prius is baked from a refined recipe that results in a roomy, practical and efficient vehicle lurking under an eco-statement exterior, or at least we thought so. Five years on, it's still the most popular way to conspicuously consume under the guise of saving the planet. Toyota hasn't been resting on the success of its green badge of targeted consumerism, so we're going to see a new Prius at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in January, according to Toyota President Watanabe. The 3rd-generation Prius will grow in size, and engine displacement will be bumped to 1.8 liters to increase performance. Despite the increase in size and sprightliness, weight will reportedly hold steady. Further changes are in store after the launch, with plug-in and Li-Ion updates to come.

(Continued)

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/29/n...ncy/3#comments

-----------------------------------
Hmmmm, it will be interesting to see what figures the new Prius gets, seeing as this will set the bar in which the Volt will be judged by the public...

Reading it correctly.... the announcement is going to be in January at the NAIAs. However the actual debut will be sometime later in the year. June -Oct.

[PhishPhood]

Originally Posted by plane

I really wanted to post something in this thread, but the vsd thought patrol police are afoot tonight.

Oh well. Live dangerously.

I'll just add that the upgrade from 1.5 to 1.8 appears quite reasonable given the relative paucity of power in the current generation Prius, regardless of what the green weenies scream about.

I respect your opinion but I'm positive that you've never been shown how it performs and works by someone knowledgable enough to explain everything.

On the Prius forums the main complaint is that adding extra power is a waste of technology that could have been used to improve fuel economy even more. Why add extra power when the vehicle can do 65 or 75 on the highway the same as every other vehicle doing 65 or 75? What benefit does a 1.8L offer over a 1.5L when both are doing 65 mph? 65 is 65. Ditto in town but even more so. Why jump the HP by nearly 50% when most in town driving is at 40 mph or less?

Why not put that technology to work improving the FE by 40% instead of 20%?

But..... I think I see the reasoning. It will attract a wider buying public. And, there is likely to be a smaller Prius, probably with the 1.5L, that actually does get 40% better fuel economy. This too also reaches a wider buying public.

Then there might be a third model still to be identified. That too will be different enough to reach an even wider buying public.l

In the end it's only about sales. Fanny's in seats. The dyed-in-the-green Priusanista's will hate the fact that 'their' Prius only gets 55 mpg real world but so what. They sure aren't going to jump ship and buy Expeditions and Sequoia's and Tahoe's. They're stuck with a new vehicle that only gets 15-20% better fuel economy than their current Gen2. But there will be a much wider range of buyers looking up the three new Prius models as possible purchases.

[johnstarnes]

I would have preferred that they give it even better mileage. And while many hate the look of the "Concept X", I find it revolutionary and leading edge and hope it closely previews the look of the next Prius.

[Puzzel]

I think this makes perfect sense, given the announcement/leak/supposition some time ago, that Prius was going to become a 2-3 car brand, ala Scion. The larger Gen3 "Prius A" would be the mainstream family sedan, leaving room for a smaller (likely between Yaris and Corolla) "Prius B". The larger platform of "Prius A" could also be used for "Prius C": a hybrid CUV for greater cargo capabilities.

[Michael_S]

The current Prius 0-60 mph is 10.5 seconds, which is in line with many modern economy cars and better than almost any economy car from 10 and 20 years ago.

So your $22,000 hybrid is only as fast as a $15,000 economy car. Millions of people drive vehicles no faster than yours every single day. Where's the problem?

[emh]

Originally Posted by Michael_S

The current Prius 0-60 mph is 10.5 seconds, which is in line with many modern economy cars and better than almost any economy car from 10 and 20 years ago.

So your $22,000 hybrid is only as fast as a $15,000 economy car. Millions of people drive vehicles no faster than yours every single day. Where's the problem?

I don't know for sure, but I expected most $15k cars today to do better than 10.5s for 0-60. I remember looking at Civics and Corollas in the late 90's and they were about 10s for 0-60 back then.

[Michael_S]

Originally Posted by emh

I don't know for sure, but I expected most $15k cars today to do better than 10.5s for 0-60. I remember looking at Civics and Corollas in the late 90's and they were about 10s for 0-60 back then.

Motor Trend: Aveo automatic 11.1 0-60 mph
Toyota claims the previous (up to 2007) Corolla had a 10.4 second 0-60 mph with an automatic.
Consumer Reports tested the Yaris and the Fit as more than 12 seconds 0-60 with automatics.
Buick Terrazza AWD was tested by Edmunds at 12.5 second 0-60 mph.
The F-150 V6 and Silverado V6 can't be faster than 10 seconds 0-60 empty, when the V8 versions with 50+ extra horsepower barely break 9 seconds.

Trucks towing trailers often have 15 or 20 second 0-60 times.

You won't win a race in a Prius, but it's not so slow that it's dangerous.

[atomicshark]

Originally Posted by emh

I don't know for sure, but I expected most $15k cars today to do better than 10.5s for 0-60. I remember looking at Civics and Corollas in the late 90's and they were about 10s for 0-60 back then.

What amazes me is that the most popular compacts under $18k including the sporty Mazda3 are pretty tepid performers when it comes to 0-60. Most do 0-60 in 9 seconds or more with a manual transmission.

I realize that people buy these cars for fuel economy and low cost. But it is good to occasionally have your cake and eat it too.

This is what I love about my Cobalt. 0-60 in 8 seconds with an automatic and it still gets well over 30 MPG.

+ YouTube Video

I can't wait to see what Chevy comes out with next.

[jry]

OK, so can it climb a slippery hill and drive in the winter without studded snow tires?
I think studs in tires are only legal in the northeast US anymore.
Michigan outlawed them eons ago.

[plane]

Originally Posted by jry

OK, so can it climb a slippery hill and drive in the winter without studded snow tires?
I think studs in tires are only legal in the northeast US anymore.
Michigan outlawed them eons ago.

+1

Slip slidin away
Slip slidin away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin away