Does Toyota See the Future?

Not range limited? Tesla? That 200 mile range IS the limitation. You will never legally get 350 miles faster in a Tesla than a Prius. The Prius will win every time with 5 minute fueling and a 500 range and ample fuel supplies and stations virtually everywhere. And I can carry another 250 miles of range in a five gallon gas can that I can fill up anywhere I can gas up. No Tesla can do that.

Yeah, I drove a Model 3. Not sufficiently impressed to want one. Especially at the price. And with the range limitation. I do own an electric bicycle and an electric wheel chair. Both are also ranged limited.

 

Last year we would have needed to stop to fuel about 28 times if we drove Prius.
As was, we had to stop once and that was for food and a bathroom break.

For us, the Prius is far more range limited than the Tesla.
That all comes down to what trip patterns you have.

One persons 'range limitation' is another persons 'freedom'.

 

Except every rideshare driver needs that 3rd seat occasionally and it is required to operate on the platforms,
I don't need 3 seats always... But I a must have them to work.
Prius has plenty of back seat leg room, I get compliments all the time. If anything it's the front seats that could use more.
The Model V was great too.. but needed to be a bit longer to be worth it.
I would say the biggest threat to the Prius is it's ugly looks (4th gen) and that some pure gas cars are getting close to it's MPG numbers.
And there are some other cars in the same class the Hyundai Ioniq that beat it in MPG, and looks and interior.
I have a 08 myself, 266,000 miles on it...
That would be the main reason I'd buy a Toyota over other Hybrids.. good track record of reliability, and a simple Driveline.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

When I see "Tesla vs. Prius" articles like this I always come back to the cost issue. That is, not everyone has 50K (or more) lying around to purchase a Tesla. I appreciate the Tesla early adopters and such...but I really think Tesla is still firmly planted in the 'luxury car' market...for now.

The only trend I do see is that some ardent Prius supporters (and quite a few around this site) have 'upgraded' to Tesla....at much higher cost.

Don't get me wrong...I really do like Tesla and what they stand for. However, the cost of their vehicles are just too high for me to justify one at this time. Do others not have the same issue? Or are folks rationalizing the cost somehow...

 

I will certainly be more willing to take a look at a bare bones 35k model if/when it happens

I might be willing to go 40k, but I paid 30k for the pip 6 1/2 years ago

Tax credits matter as well

 

There is nothing wrong with buying based on sticker price. Many people do just that.
Many others bought a Prius even though they could afford more. For those, the Tesla may be a better option which wasn't available back when they bought their Prius.

And yet others look at the lifetime cost, not just the sticker price. This may bring the cost closer, or even in some cases, equal.

Another group looks at costs other than dollars, and puts their money where their mouth is.
I never desired a Roadster, nor a large luxury vehicle. I did want a vehicle that would let me determine how clean its fuel source is.
With gasoline, I have virtually no control over that. With electric I have almost total control over that.

 

OP article is click bait.

It took a long time, but Toyota has achieved its orginal vision (described to me one time around 2003) how to make Hybrid and Non-Hybrid vehciles equivlent body style. Very nice achievement by Toyota, but holy heck OK way longer timeline than I was thinking.

I am now free to go buy a Toyota Camry Hybrid, which is what I was originally doing in 2006 when we instead got the Prius, because the 2006 Camry had honking big HV battery in the trunk, and probably a full size spare tire. Now HV battery is under rear seat and I think hybrid gives you more cargo space than the ICE. Also 2006 Camry Hybrid was like 33 MPG (ho Hum compared to Prii 50).

 

Agreed, and they are getting closer on price differential, but still a ways to go.

The biggest issue to higher adoption rates imo is the expensive repair potential, scary hybrid system, and lack of quality non dealer support

 

Now if Toyota could make plug-in hybrid equivalent to ICE and Hybrid, maybe just a little bigger frame or something, we are getting somewhere.

 

For me the exterior ugly is tolerable; the first time I saw the dash was a gut punch.

 

I do like the 2019 changes though...to me the exterior looks much better now. I still prefer the 'classic wedge' styling of the Gen3's though.

 

I've never quite understood the wedge thing either; is there some areodynamic advantage? The oldest recollection I have of that was the Echo, which was an odd looking car...



It basically looks to me like someone screwed up, and it was too far gone into production, so they stuck with it, lol.

 

i think you're on the exact same timeline as toyota!

 

I'm not stupid. If a battery car with similar range and price to a Prius shows up, I am going to look. Even a $35,000 dollar one. But I will not spend more than 15 minutes to fuel, including waiting.

Used battery cars in 2030 will be priced like Yugos are today. We'll all be powered by Hydrogen. Batteries are so lacking in power density, with just a few tweaks, the big H will take off. Batteries are near the end of their efficiency, hydrogen is just starting to explore the landscape. Or do I need to remind you folks that Hydrogen is No. 1!

 

There are a BUNCH of good EV's coming. Kia Soul EV, Kia Niro EV, Hyundai Ionic EV,. And their are some plug in and regular Hybrid versions of those also. I believe the EV models are about 230-260 miles range.
So I would wait to see what comes in the next couple years . And buy a used Prius if you need a car now.
I drove 50,000 miles per year and When I ran the numbers comparing a long range Model 3 to a brand new Prius $30k. The numbers work out to taking 16 years to break even... If I Only charged at home it would be closer to 8 years to break even.
Don't buy an expensive EV expecting to save money.. buy one because you want the car.. that's a good enough reason. Power performance, luxury, features ... All great reasons to pick a particular car... Saving money is NOT one of them.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

No one could drive 50,000 miles per year and charge at home, unless they owned a SuperCharger.

 

I really wanted a Tesla but the magic is gone now.

 

? Do you mean on L1?

50,000/250 = 200
200/4 = 50
50 / 8 = 6.25

That is well within home charging capabilities.

The catch is if the miles aren’t predictable then yes I would agree but for a commute likely doable,
especially for those of us with even L1 workplace charging.

I even figured out that for my “normal “ driving activities L1 would work on BEV only because I have access to 16+ hours a day to charge which for me works out to an easy 80-100 of EV driving miles a day, with a larger battery I would bank charge during the week and use on the weekend.

I still like long weekend trips though which still requires some sort of gas fired rig a good chunk of the time.

 

I know of people that do exactly this, if not more.
Typically these people are rural mail carriers or real estate agents.