Toyota Unveils First European-Only Hybrid - Auris Hybrid Concept

[Danny]

A new story entry has been added:

Toyota Unveils First European-Only Hybrid - Auris Hybrid Concept

Toyota hasn't released any fuel efficiency numbers yet, but the Auris Hybrid Concept has an EV Mode that can take you 1.25 miles at speeds up to 31 MPH. The PWR, ECO, and EV modes all transfer over from the 2010 Prius into the Auris concept, giving the driver control over their driving experience.

[quantumslip]

And then there's this nugget: "In the future, Toyota aims to advance this technology to provide solar powered recharging of the hybrid battery." I had heard from the Chief Engineer for the Prius that this was the original intention behind the solar roof in the Prius, but it did not produce enough energy. This is the first we've heard of Toyota saying that it is their future goal to use solar to charge the hybrid battery.

I thought they originally didn't do this because of a lot of line noise b/c of the voltage differences. Maybe they found a way to work around that now?

It would be cool to park outside, come back, and find you have a charged battery, though I think it would take a long time for solar panels alone to charge it up.

[SageBrush]

Toyota is speaking of the future when the solar irradiation is about 3x today's, and collector efficiency approaches 50%.

Not tomorrow, or the day after that ...

[Mike Dimmick]

Well, it might trickle-charge the HV battery. A very slow trickle.

So, the differences to the current Auris sheet-metal are: new front and headlamps, side indicators in the mirror housings, new rear light clusters, and a new rear bumper with aerocorners containing the rear reflectors. It's a facelift. The side view makes it obvious:

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New:



I'm disappointed. I was hoping for a real diesel-beater economy car, not a hot hatch. 18" wheels? Seriously? Sub 100g/km? Prius achieves 89g/km on the 15" wheels.

Still, listing it as a 'concept' leaves hope that the low-spec version is achievable. I want to find out once and for all just how much more the hybrid drive really costs, and how that compares to a diesel.

[drees]

Originally Posted by Mike Dimmick

I'm disappointed. I was hoping for a real diesel-beater economy car, not a hot hatch. 18" wheels? Seriously? Sub 100g/km? Prius achieves 89g/km on the 15" wheels.

It's a concept - remember the huge chrome wheels that were shown on the Insight concept car?

The real thing will almost undoubtedly come with light 15" wheels.

I'm curious as to how much storage space is lost with the HSD compared to the regular car, as well as how much weight is added.

I still dream of a sub 2500lb car with the HSD drivetrain and a decent suspension setup. Unfortunately, it appears that the weight of the current Auris is very similar to the Prius at 2750-3200lbs depending on whether you get the gas or diesel engine so I'd expect the hybrid to be similar to the diesel version in weight.

[hampdenwireless]

Originally Posted by quantumslip

I thought they originally didn't do this because of a lot of line noise b/c of the voltage differences. Maybe they found a way to work around that now?

It would be cool to park outside, come back, and find you have a charged battery, though I think it would take a long time for solar panels alone to charge it up.

The current solar roof on the Prius is about 80w. If you multiplied the space by two and the efficiency by three (about the most I can ever imagine in the next five years) then you would have almost 500w. That could recharge the (current) HV pack in a few hours and a plug in pack in a day or two of full sun.

The above is obviously a pipe dream because a factor of six is going to be quite hard to get.... but maybe in 10 years????

[drees]

Originally Posted by hampdenwireless

and the efficiency by three (about the most I can ever imagine in the next five years)

Very optimistic.

The very best panels are only about 3x more efficient than the one currently used on the Prius. Unless there's a major breakthrough, I'd find it highly unrealistic that affordable panels get any more than 25% more efficient even after 5 years.

[Rokeby]

I am blue-skying it and dreaming of a small, relatively light two door
commuter. Something roughly similar to 2-door Yaris, CityCar, or even
the old Insight I.

In the pictures Mike Dimmick posted, I note the concept car has a HybridSD
badge on the front fenders. I'll bet there are positioning pins on the badges,
and matching holes in the fenders. Drat!

[thorst]

Can someone please explain to me why they dont sell these in the US.

I would really love to buy a deisel-plug-in-hybrid from toyota. id settly for a gas one, i know the plug in prius is coming out but i would rather get this.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by Mike Dimmick

Well, it might trickle-charge the HV battery. A very slow trickle.

So, the differences to the current Auris sheet-metal are: new front and headlamps, side indicators in the mirror housings, new rear light clusters, and a new rear bumper with aerocorners containing the rear reflectors. It's a facelift. The side view makes it obvious:

Old:



New:



I'm disappointed. I was hoping for a real diesel-beater economy car, not a hot hatch. 18" wheels? Seriously? Sub 100g/km? Prius achieves 89g/km on the 15" wheels.

Still, listing it as a 'concept' leaves hope that the low-spec version is achievable. I want to find out once and for all just how much more the hybrid drive really costs, and how that compares to a diesel.

Sure they're 18? They look like the 17" alloys from the Prius.

Originally Posted by thorst

Can someone please explain to me why they dont sell these in the US.

I would really love to buy a deisel-plug-in-hybrid from toyota. id settly for a gas one, i know the plug in prius is coming out but i would rather get this.

Cause the average Corolla buyer doesn't care and we have the Matrix for that. The Matrix has a little more cargo capacity and has a higher seating position than the Corolla hatchback (Auris)