Prius Minivan Coming in 2011 with Lithium-ion batteries?

Haven't they had Estima hybrids for years? Maybe it's new having lithium batteries but I seem to remember seeing a couple of them driving around over here (I think they might be grey imports from Japan).

A new Estima hybrid sounds a great idea and would tick all my boxes.

 

Finally.
We have an '06 Sienna AWD, and It seems to be a huge vehicle when you travel. A new van could certainly be a bit smaller, and be very functional. An actual "mini" van with a hsd system would be a good fit in the Toyota fleet, and we would trade in for one immediately, right in line behind the Johnsons and the Wilsons.

 

Smaller would mean less costly than the Sienna which now starts at about $26500 for the new 2.7L I4. So let's hypothesize that without the hybrid system this new mini-minivan would sell for $22,000???

Using this as the basis, then a 2.5L I4 +HSD based on NiMH technology should sell for about $27,000 or about the same price as a base V6 non-hybrid Sienna. You'd be trading size and capability for compactness and fuel economy. Those are two very valid choices to offer the public.

Using the $22,000 base while adding an HSD system based on Li-Ion technology might push the pricing up over $30000 to say the $32000 range. In addition if it had some significant gas-free capabilities pricing might go up over $35,000. This is about the range of an XLE V6 non-hybrid Sienna right now.

 

I sure hope its not going to be like the Mazda 5 in at least one respect. That's the only vehicle I can recall that has so little leg room for the driver that I couldn't even get my legs past the steering wheel to get into the drivers seat!

 

If it comes with all-wheel drive I'll buy it!

 

Will you pay $40K+ for it?

 

It looks like my old Chevy APV from the early 90's

 

if theyre still in business by then. The lawsuits are just beginning, and their totals make the government fine look like chump change.

 

Plenty of people do. Check the cost of a loaded Honda Odyssey (admittedly probably the best of the Minivans out there) out - I'll bet you are going to be a little surprised.

 

I wonder will it have a cargo option , no rear seats, or rear windows
I could use that for work

 

It may, of a sort. The current Estima hybrid in Japan uses "a drivetrain very similar to the Lexus RX400h with 2 electric motors - one for the front wheels plus a second, rear-mounted electric motor driving the rear wheels for four-wheel drive capability."* That is more power/less mileage than I would have hoped for.

Perhaps the 'new' part is using the RX450h drivetrain instead.

* Toyota Previa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Not to hijack this thread, but...

I wonder what the effect will be when Toyota
moves to Lithium-Ion battery technology?

Will they just shrink the battery, keep the
same capacity, and thereby save some weight
and maybe manufacturing cost?

Will they keep the same size and weight, and
use the increased capacity to get more range?

Will the battery charge faster so that perhaps
the ICE won't need to run as long in recharge
mode?

Are there going to be safety issues, like when
Dell had their exploding laptop batteries?

--

The fact that the 2010 was a perfect candidate
for the new technology, yet it didn't come out,
does that mean that productizing Lithium-Ion
for hybrid cars is problematic or the technology
is too costly?

 

Our ol' 400h Lexus SUV ... like the Gen II Prius, is less efficient than the newer version(s). The old epa for our AWD 400h was 30mpg I think. Best I've ever averaged over a tank full is 34.2mpg. But most Lexus drivers drive lead foot, thus average maybe 26-27mpg.

The 2010 RX is now designated a 450 instead of 400h. It now has the atkinson ICE, so mpg's should be higher, though EPA ratings were adjusted downward to reflect the lead foot driving patterns of most.

But 30ish mpg for a hybrid minivan aint bad ... considering size, and nearly 300 hp.

 

Enter the rumormill: Prius minivan on the works? — Autoblog Green

I do have a diesel powertrain in my Verso (177 hp, 400 NM), but would love to trade it for a hybrid Verso.

 

I rode in a Toyota hybrid minivan in Tokyo about five years ago (I cant recall exact dates of trip but it was after I bought my '04 Prius). I only rode in it-I did not dissect it-but I recall that it had a nav screen similar to the Prius. I was with some provincial government officials-so I don't know if they had a concept model- but I got the impression it was in production in Japan even then- which I sense is common before moving to the NA market.

 

It's this one:



And i like it a lot. It's very fast (100 km/h in 8.9 sec), it doesn't use a lot of diesel (1 liter: 16 km) and has a lot of room. The kids love to sit on the third row and driving with 6 kids in the car is a pleasure. But on the second row there is also a lot of legroom. I can sit behind myself and i am 1.89 meters.

But i drove my sisters Prius last week again and that's even better. But i got used to the space of my Verso, so a combination of both would be ideal.

 

I think Toyota might be developing something based on a shortened Camry platform that looks like a "tall wagon" and powered by the same drivetrain used on the Camry Hybrid/Lexus HS250h, primarily with the US market in mind. There will also be a conventionally powered turbodiesel version for the European market, too.