Prius Chief Engineer Confirms Hybrid Yaris

You wouldn't think that a Yaris has the room for Hybrid hardware. But hey, if they can fit in, and its a real uber gas miser, and priced right, they will have a real winner on their hands!
Good move Toyota!!!
Thanks Danny!

But it'll still be a Yaris....eeeeuuu!:wacko:

The Insight looks nicer.

Please make it a hatchback! That car should get the crown for the most affordable and highest MPG hybrid on the market.

they recently said 10 new hybrid Toyotas in early 2010's.... which means most toyotas will have hybrid versions.

maybe 1.0l? it will be that or 1.33... i seriously doubt it will be 1.5.

It may need the JATO option to really make those 1/4 mile numbers!!

And some wondered why Prius was growing bigger, faster, and more powerful (while also becoming even more efficient). Our guess that it was to make room for a smaller sibling has been confirmed. Sweet!
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1.33 already has start/stop system on every model... If they wanted to make it sporty to justify the price premium, it could be 1.33l.

if they wanted to make it as economical as possible around the town, it will be 1.0l 3cly. But the price will be above of 1.33 with start stop and question is if anyone will then want that vehicle.

of course, you guys have to consider this car will be made with Europe in mind, as Europeans buy half of worldwide Yaris supply (around 250k in normal year). So 1.5l wont be in for sure... Most Yarii sell with 1.0l and that might change after 1.33 is on the market for a while.

Is the 1.0 liter engine 4 cylinders or 3? We've never had 3 cylinder HSD yet.

I've driven the 1 litre 3 cylinder in the EU. I thought it had plenty of power. No, you won't win any drag races when the light turns green, it's not a Hemi (c), but who cares?

A 1 litre 3 cylinder HSD could result in amazing fuel economy in a Yaris sized vehicle

I expect that in 2011 Toyota will be introducing the 3rd generation Yaris / Vitz and it is being designed to accommodate the hybrid components. The current Yaris was introduced in 2005, so we are due for the next generation soon.

What - no MPG guesses? Usually by 2 or 3 posts into a thread like this, someone ventures the first guess. OK - I'm guessing 60mpg, minimum (which would probably disappoint most PC'ers), but more likely 65. 70 would not shock me. This assumes Toyota can maintain or improve upon the same levels of efficiency, and the CD is close to the Prius' CD of 0.25. Coupled with a smaller frontal area, this would yield a pleasantly small wind resistance.

I think Toyota will hit a home run if they can significantly undercut the new Insight's pricetag, as they claim, and improve upon the styling a little. Even without the high tech bells and whistles of the Prius, there's a big market.

I suspect that the only reason Toyota waited this long was that they knew they needed to sacrifice battery weight for a small hybrid car, but not energy storage capacity ... and perhaps now they are getting really really really close to a viable Lithium battery chemistry.

Lithium is more expensive than NiMH. I doubt Toyota will use it in what is suppose to be inexpensive FULL hybrid.

I wouldn't be surprise, if the MR2 HSD to have the Lithium.

that's cuz the Insight looks so much like a Prius