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

[SageBrush]

The Honda Insight is larger than the micro-cars that Europe can choose from that use less than 5 litres/100km, and is not a diesel. That makes it competitive in my book.

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by bob_ninja

What does "solid" mean????
I have 2 hondas, older Civic and less old CRV. CRV I drive now in brutal Canadian winters (before CRV the small Civic was used year around).
I NEVER had any issues, any problems with either one, besides the usual rust and wear. Toyota cars may have more features, but a "solid" car is one that gets you from point A to point B regardless of features.

I don't understand how Honda's are not solid??????

Thank you for your imressions of your hondas. FEEL is the word I used and I guess it is subjective but to ME the hondas I have driven did not feel as solid, or rugged or well built as the Toyotas I have driven. It is an impression I got from driving them. I'm happy to hear you have had a good run from Hondas you have and currently own.

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by nameless dude

The current Prius's engine delivers 76hp and only manages 110 with combined-34hp of difference, compared to a whole 60hp of difference from this new Prius.

I think the next gen Prius may have larger and more powerful HV battery pack. The reason is because of the bailout package that allows $2,500 tax credit for 4kWh battery. I can see Toyota taking advantage of it.

The bailout package also includes tax credit that will knock down 30% off your solar panel installation. Will that apply to cars like the home installation? Wonder why there are recent news about solar Prius? I think it is because of the juicy bailout package.

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by bestmapman

I hope that the US version gets the same MPG rating as the other version or I will be disappointed.

Wasn't there talk about 92g/km and 89g/km versions? If the 1.5l version has 89g/km and 1.8l has 92g/km for the emission, the difference is just 3.4%. I'll take the 1.8l 160hp version.

BTW, the Iconic Prius is rated at 104g/km so even the new 1.8l Prius will be 13% more fuel efficient.

[jprates]

Originally Posted by SageBrush

The Honda Insight is larger than the micro-cars that Europe can choose from that use less than 5 litres/100km, and is not a diesel. That makes it competitive in my book.

Ohhh... I must have been distracted these last 37 years... I did not take notice the only cars we have capable of doing <5 litres are only microcars...

When was the last time you visited Europe? 'Nough said...

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by bob_ninja

My 13 year old Civic runs fine with a 1.5L ICE alone, no electric assist.

The difference is like night and day. I made a video while comparing my Prius going up different hills with my friend's 96 Civic and my 06 Prius. Civic without electric motor can't keep up with uphill at low RPM -- the engine almost stalled. It is a showcase for HSD in contrast with the gear transmission.

It was a fun experiment!

YouTube - Comparison of 1996 Civic (1.6l) Vs. 2006 Prius (1.5l)

[bob_ninja]

Originally Posted by patsparks

Thank you for your imressions of your hondas. FEEL is the word I used and I guess it is subjective but to ME the hondas I have driven did not feel as solid, or rugged or well built as the Toyotas I have driven. It is an impression I got from driving them. I'm happy to hear you have had a good run from Hondas you have and currently own.

Actually in that sense yes it is 100% correct.
My old Civic is nowhere near as safe and strong built like modern Toyotas.
Fair enough.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by jprates

Ohhh... I must have been distracted these last 37 years... I did not take notice the only cars we have capable of doing <5 litres are only microcars...

When was the last time you visited Europe? 'Nough said...

The last time I was in Europe was October 2008.

Again looking at VCAcarfueldata.com I paged through 80 screens looking for a conventional petrol car that does <5 L/100km. The Toyota Yaris is rated at 4.5 L/100km, Fiat 500 at 5.0 L/100km and Citroen C3 at 5.7 L/100km but these are all superminis. The most fuel efficient car larger than a supermini I found was the VW Golf TSI (122PS) which is rated at 5.9 L/100km combined.

In North America a Golf (Rabbit in the US) is classified as a compact car, the second smallest category. You can see why we would be impressed by a similar sized Insight getting 4.4 L/100 km when our Golf only gets 7.6 L/100km.

[bob_ninja]

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

The difference is like night and day. I made a video while comparing my Prius going up different hills with my friend's 96 Civic and my 06 Prius. Civic without electric motor can't keep up with uphill at low RPM -- the engine almost stalled. It is a showcase for HSD in contrast with the gear transmission.

It was a fun experiment!

YouTube - Comparison of 1996 Civic (1.6l) Vs. 2006 Prius (1.5l)

Except I rarely drive up or down hill where I live. By all means 1.5L ICE alone is not very powerful. People pass me all the time and accelarate much faster. However, my point is that if 1.5L ICE alone can handle every day driving Ok in my older Civic then certainly a newer modern 1.5L ICE plus electric should be plenty, even when taking into account more weight, bigger size. Also additional troque should be provided by electric as it is much better at generating a lot of torque very quickly.

[PoulStaugaard]

Originally Posted by bob_ninja

The entire point of a hybrid design is to borrow extra torque when needed from electric motor. So why is then ICE size being increased as opposed to electric motor???

Because simply making a bigger electric motor would not give you any more power. The (electric) power for the motor has to come from either a bigger engine or from a larger battery, as long as they stick with NIMH.