Toyota to release 2 different Prius-es to US & Europe

[patsparks]

Please stop crying everyone, I'm sure Toyota are going to look after the economy aspect. I think people forget that PC members are not the average motorist, if Toyota can position the Prius more to the centre of the car buying demographic it will also capture a bigger slice of that market. Americans and Australians want bigger cars with bigger engines than the Europeans so that is what you get. You have all seen the people that come on PC crying that Prius is slow compared to their other car, a Corvette or some other car which cost twice as much as a Prius.

I suspect Australia will get the bigger engine, I'll see what I can find out on the weekend. I may be meeting someone in the know.
I trust Toyota to come out with a car that will sell, I just hope it has a towing capacity higher than 0kg

I wonder what the economy switch will do?

[Tideland Prius]

bruceha, I dunno. Some countries are taxed based on engine size so a smaller engine will mean lower operating costs for the consumer. Others are based on CO2 emissions so the lower one may undercut the lowest category and thus be tax-free, creating another incentive for the consumer.


I'm ok with the power boost. I know the 1.8 litre engine is really efficient and yes, the current Prius is just adequate (remember it was about making efficient use of everything), I think a little extra power won't hurt (esp. with a full load of people). It'll also mean that we can carry heavier things without overloading the Prius.

[DaveinOlyWA]

i really dont care what they do with the engine, but imm, there needs to be an improvement in the mileage. i average around 53 now. make it 60 without any driving habit changes and i can accept that. since the Pri was designed to get better gas mileage (along with introducing new technology of course) a more powerful engine that creates a loss in economic performance would be a tough decision to justify (especially considering i have no issues with the power of my current Pri)

[dipper]

Hope the econ option allows the gearing to be setup very tall on the CVT. If it does, it might not be that big of a difference. And might be better freeway mpg.

We can all hope and see if 1/12 tells us what we want to hear.

[cycledrum]

I voted for 'Import, no thanks, I want more power' .... and I'll tell why

>> There have been more than a few occasions where I was forced to get on the Prius gas quite hard to keep from getting run down.

One occasion, I was on a rather short freeway on ramp. I noticed a V6 type SUV barrelling along fast, stuck to the slow lane I needed to merge into. There was also a car behind it. I needed to get on the gas quite hard to merge onto the freeway ahead of the SUV, and I don't like to get into the throttle quite that hard.

Another time, I started up a steep hill with commuters behind, most larger cars. I was in front. I did ok getting up the hill, but the Prius felt a bit underpowered.

I'll face it --- I'm not a total greenie, but I do want to be reasonably conservative.

To the car manufacturers ....

>> If you can find a way to make a car very efficient and clean like the Prius, and also have performance to blend in easily with other traffic anywhere, plus be quite comfortable for tall and short drivers, and have the usefulness of the current Prius, then you have a truly remarkable car.

The current 2nd Gen Prius is fairly close to the above, but not quite there.

[cycledrum]

160 would be an awfully big jump in horsepower, more than I would hope for. I was thinking more like 135 HP total, assuming curb weight almost the same.

Hope they are not ditching economy for the sake of too much power.

[SageBrush]

I personally have no interest in more HP, but I have to believe the US market is still big enough to sell both.

On a different note, perhaps this is our answer to whether a 1.8L engine may be more fuel efficient than an 1.5L.

[PriuStorm]

I think those who are in it for the economy will start looking for Gen 2's and that will help my resale.

[nameless dude]

160hp...120kw... wow, . the new Mazda 6 has a 2.5L engine which delivers 125kw...and this Prius, if rumours and speculations are true and it won't be any heavier than the outgoing prius, will be a whole 100kg lighter than the 6. And with all that torque available, it might even be faster than a 6...something which will give the Prius haters a hard time. And if what Miguel said was regarding to the 1.8L and economy does drop below 4.0l/km, let's see what Jeremy Clarkson will have to say on his next Top Gear episide. Lol, of course that fuel drinking, carbon exhaust smoking freak will find some other excuses, he'll lie for sure if he has to.

If Australia does gets the 1.8L 160hp Prius , I might find myself at a Toyota dealer the first day the Prius is out. At last, a practical and spacious fuel efficient car more power...something i definately need for my frequent motorway travelling.

[drees]

Originally Posted by cycledrum

I needed to get on the gas quite hard to merge onto the freeway ahead of the SUV, and I don't like to get into the throttle quite that hard.

If you didn't have it floored, you had power to spare. If you need to go, stop wussing out and floor the damn gas pedal. That's what it's there for.

You don't need a bigger engine so you can perform the same manoeuvres without ever using more than 50% throttle and then spend the other 98% of the time at 2% throttle and choking the engine with the closed throttle body and wasting fuel.

The only time I've wanted more power out of the Prius is when drag racing sports cars at stop lights. In every other situation the power output of the Prius has been fine.