4th generation coming 2015!

There once was a certain un-named writer that gave the impression that he wants all of the "attributes," but at the price of a Prius.

I am quite certain that any and all manufacturers would immediately marked a vehicle that meets, and exceeds, all of the stated criteria (power, acceleration, fuel efficiency, quietness, size, towing capacity, comfort, and reliability ) at the cost of a Prius if such a design were possible. But each one of those attributes, dictates a compromise in one of the other attributes. Too bad that engineering and physics, just isn't fair.

BTW, I do not believe the accelerator pedal is physically connected to the ICE, so I do not understand the "heavy input" comment. Also, I live in the mountains, (5000 foot elevation, and must climb over passes to leave my valley). I hear the ICE work harder, but never had it "screaming" on a grade. OTOH, my BMW works a little harder to climb the same grades as well.

 

I apologize for causing any controversy.

All I said was I would like better performance (ie closer to a Camry Hybrid) out of the next gen Prius. I said that I'd be willing to take a MPG penalty for this. I never mentioned price, but I'd pay more for better performance if you must know. I said, I like the more space efficient and larger cargo area of the Prius over the Camry body. In my opinion the Prius seems to work harder at 75 MPH than the other modern cars I have driven. This is just my experience.

I also apologize for embellishing to prove my point. No the ICE doesn't scream, but it does drone excessively loud when it works, and in comparison to other modern cars that I have driven on the same grades.

I know there are other's who have stated similar things about performance. I don't mean to upset any who does not agree with my opinion.

 

Camry hybrid power is between a 4 and a 6 cylinder. it has 200 hp. When I tested a Camry hybrid, I felt as if it had more power and faster than my TSX, and TSX is FAST!

The 2012 Acura TSX has 201 hp.

This is week 7 for me as Prius driver, almost no driving time for the other car, more "fun to drive" with Prius.

 

The un-spoken back-theme here reminds me of the years (ago) when Ford stuffed V8's into Pinto's & Mustang II's and Chebby stuffed V8's into Vega's and Monza's, etc.

 

I think he has point. Look at the difference between the Prius v and Camry Hybrid, 1 mpg. I would think the Camry HSD in the Prius v would be an awesome combo and probably even better mpg given the better aerodynamics and lighter weight of the Prius v.

 

An innocent question .... because I would like to know.

Is the 1.8L engine in the Prius, the same engine that is used in the Camry Hybrid? Obviously, the Camry is larger internally, but I mean the external dimensions.

 

Toyota seems to leapfrog each new model with greater efficiencies. The 2004 Prius motor weighed 45kg and power was rated at 50kW. The 2007 Camry Hybrid motor is only 41.7kg but puts out 70kW. But everything else about the Camry Hybrid is bigger including the battery as well as the ICE you mentioned. The poor Prius v would also need upgraded suspension as well. There goes the weight savings...

 

Toyota to pack track-tested tech into next Prius

 

I wish. It was increased substantially from the 2004 but in this case size matters, the bigger the motor the more room you have to get greater efficiency returns. Here are the peak specific power ratings as put out by Oak Ridge National Labs for various Toyota/Lexus motors:
2004 Prius (50 kW) - 1.1 kW/kg
2007 Camry Hybrid (70kW) - 1.7 kW/kg
2008 Lexus LS600h (110kW) - 2.5 kW/kg
2010 Prius (60 kW) - 1.6 kW/kg

 

I haven't read all 160 pages of the gen 4 info but I do have one question: does anyone know if the engine is being modified to eliminate the cold (and sometimes warm) weather rough starting issue?

 

The CLIFF's Notes™ summary statement:

"The advancement comes in the semiconductors that manage the flow of electricity through the power control unit that integrates a hybrid vehicle's battery, motor and generator."

 

That's followed by another statement that this won't be commercially available until 2020. So clearly not gen 4.

 

I like the idea of AWD. Over here in the northern bits of United Kingdom, winter can mean very slippery roads so even if G4 retained its current level of ground clearance, the addition of AWD would make the car much more safer and maneuverable on frozen/icy roads.

With regard to the comment on Semiconductors, I think there are two separate bits of information.

1. There are new control devices being used in G4, these "chips" are also re-used in racing car so they get tested in extreme conditions

2. Silicon Carbide semiconductor devices are not ready to go into production so will probably not make it into G4

 

Yeah that's what I read. In addition to number 1, the control chips are being tortured with rather large swings of voltage and current spikes from being mated with super capacitors. They'll have a rather pedestrian life in the gen 4 Prius.

 

Altho an AWD is an appreciated addition its not really crucial for me. My primary interest with AWD is potential higher fuel efficiency. I've always thought with 2 motors, the rear can be optimized for low take offs and the front optimized for highway thereby giving better overall mpg. That's why i was really interested if Honda will put a hybrid with their upcoming HRV. With that small size and a front and rear electric motor setup and better hybrid drive (in my opinion) than the current Toyota's, i was salivating with the potential of significantly better mpg's in the next few years.

 

That's what Tesla did with the S85D and P85D, it did extend range

S60 208 miles range 5.9 sec 0-60 120 mph
S60D 225 miles range 5.7 sec 0-60 125 mph (taken down, no longer available for orders but it shows the range improvement possible for dual motors in this case was ~8%)

S85 265 miles range 5.4 sec 0-60 125 mph
S85D 295 miles range 5.2 sec 0-60 155 mph (range increase for dual motors ~11%)

P85 265 miles range 4.2 sec 0-60 130 mph
P85D 275 miles range 3.2 sec 0-60 155 mph (range increase for dual motors ~4%)

The S models use smaller motors and get that 8-11% range increase. The P models use bigger rear motors that aren't as efficient.

When you consider the Model S is a luxury car with high performance there is probably even more range increase possible for a car where acceleration isn't as important.