Idea for a Sporty GTI competitor for 6th Gen

Top Gear or Fifth Gear had an episode in which a Golf with an adjustable suspension was timed around a track in comfort mode then sport mode. It turned out to be faster in comfort mode. Lower and stiffer isn't a handling panacea.

Some people will still see a harder, flintier ride as "sportier", but suspension tuning has gotten better since those ideas took root.

The Prius is a FWD format, and even in AWD versions the car will behave at its adhesion limits a lot like a FWD car. One of the obstacles encountered in trying to make a sportier FWD car is that feeding power through the same wheels that propel the car can get them overwhelmed pretty quickly. When MKIV GTIs got a turbo in the early 2000s, it still only bumped hp up from 115hp to 150hp. (For reference, 150 hp is the peak hp for just the engine in a current Prius). Integras were working with 140hp or so and many of the hot hatch competitors were roughly equivalent. When hatches were offered by every manufacturer, big horse power wasn't a problem. As Honda and VW stuck with that format and HP grew, part of their project was mitigating the deleterious effects of too much power on handling.

You can buy a thicker rear antisway bar on a FWD Prius so it will lift a rear wheel in a turn and rotate more readily, but that doesn't solve the underlying problem of two front tires transmitting a couple hundred horsepower and trying to turn the car at the same time.

 

I doublechecked my sources(it had been several months since I read it) and it turns out I partially misremembered. Mazda and Toyota are indeed partnering on the next gen MX-5 and GR 86, but it's for the platform and not the powertrain. The plan is to update the current MX-5 platform and allow it to be stretched to also handle the next GR 86. But the MX-5 will use a Mazda powertrain(likely a hybrid), while the GR 86 will probably(?) use the Prius powertrain. Toyota is saying a 2.0L 4-cyl hybrid that puts out 200hp. That sure sounds like the M20A that the Prius, Corolla, and NX currently uses. The G20E that's under final development is supposed to put out 300-400hp before any hybrid additions.

 

Haha, I hope that was tongue in cheek. It’s a well known fact that the new Prius is not exactly easy to get in and out off. It’s not the ground clearance itself but the roof slope. The base model Prime sits at 5.6 but XSE is at 6.0, due to 19s, which I own. I also own a Crown Platinum which has a 5.8 clearance but has one of the best ergonomics of getting in and out off even though it’s lower than the Prius!

Bro, I graduated high school a long time ago and don’t really want to sit on a rock for my 1.5 hour commute. I’ve seen maybe 3 Corolla Apex in my life, you know why, because people don’t want to sit on a rock. Too many compromises. The Prius has a great balance in handling and comfort. Steering is quick enough and responsive enough combined with instant torque and it’s a fun, zippy car. Way better than it’s competitors which is compact economy class full of soul crushing characteristics.

Prius has a ton of body roll? I don’t think you would like my Crown Platinum either . It’s a shame Toyota can’t get their adaptive dampers firm enough like the Germans.

It would be a complete waste of time because it wouldn’t be a Prius. A compact, ultra efficient car that does most things well.
Look at the Prelude and absolute hate towards it. Even though it has great handling it’s absolutely hated for not having 300+ HP! Why not just get a Type R, Nissan Z, Integra Type S, a GTI or R? Everyone wants superb handling, 300HP, less than 3500lbs, and 40+ MPGs in the city, for less than 40k, lol. That world doesn’t exist yet.
But I can see a GR Prius like the new RAV4 with updated Gen 6 PHEV, but I bet high school ricers will hate it still because it’s not extreme enough.

 

That makes a lot of sense.