Will Hybrid Corolla make Prius Better?

Yes, my last car was a FIESTA sedan - with a huge boot - you nearly needed hiking boots to get to the far end - was as long as my VOLVO 940 I suspect, just not as wide - but deeper. But it wasn't really very convenient compared with the smaller boot on my previous 3 hatches.

Remember the Renault 16 - flexibility which has never been matched except with Jazz/Fit:

 

Is there some reason the window line slopes up ever more steeply front-to-rear, maybe crash protection? Or it's just styling?

 

Likely styling - but also more aerodynamic (Hyundai Accent 2019 vs 1986 SEDAN)

 

Yeah sat in a Prime yesterday, and tried shoulder checking: those proximity sensors are becoming necessity.

 

I like the hatchback design of my Prius. I wouldn't buy a car with a trunk.

 

I haven't looked close at it - but I read in a road test that the HRV Honda has the same seats - probably based on the same platform.

 

Now that I'm home and can look it up - WIKI says "The second generation HR-V is based on the third-generation Honda Fit".

 

when you think of hybrids you think of prius....sorry dude. Toyota will not drop this car any time soon

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

TOYOTA (here at least) said something about having a hybrid in almost every model line - possibly LandCruiser exception. I think TOYOTA wants be the Hybrid company. There was a waiting list for Camry Hybrid before Christmas (selling close to 50%), and Corolla is selling about 30% hybrid.

In a recent press releasehere, that was their intent, and said they aren't going for PHEV or EV markets. I assume - yet.

 

The Corolla is replacing the Auris here in Europe, which itself previously replaced the Corolla. Just a name change both times really. The Touring Sports version compares favourably to the Prius, but has three engine choices, a 1.2 petrol, and then 1.8 and a 2.0 hybrid petrols. The 2.0 is definitely more powerful than the Prius but the 1.8 comes out roughly the same at declared specs (might even be the same engine for all I know?).

Having now seen all three lined up side by side, the 1.8 offers more boot space than the 2.0, and both offer more practical space than the Prius (wider opening for one thing).

The Corolla also comes with next gen tech, a better HUD, improved adaptive cruise control and improved safety sense. Though most of the available tech is bundled with the top spec Prius in Europe, for the Corolla, some of it is shunted into optional packs in some (all?) markets. This - apparently - was what the Corolla was supposedly famous for, lots of options and packs, etc. so that you could get exactly what you want without paying for stuff you don't. It isn't quite on the same kind of customisation level as, say, the Skoda Kodiak which has a 30-page booklet for a price list. In comparison, the price list for the Corolla is a double-sided sheet of paper and the Prius price list could be copied onto a postage stamp.

Interestingly, the Corolla is offered here in Belgium with an optional factory fitted alarm, something the Prius doesn't have.

I love the Prius but the Corolla has certainly turned my head.

Regards the Prius name, I think they'll only ditch it if they have concrete plans to reintroduce it in the future for a new generation version of hybrid or electric-only vehicle. No particular reason for thinking this but surely as a brand if not as a product, the name is too valuable to ditch entirely.

 

How does rear seat room compare. We don't get Corolla Wagon here - but there is a continual push to get it - and Corolla Hatch sales are down dramatically with the new model - probably as a reaction to the tiny boot and restrictive back seat space. But if the Hybrid Corolla Wagon comes, I'll certainly look at it later in the year when I look at changing.

It looks like PRIUS is slightly lighter - probably because of aluminium panels, slightly better l/100km, and with a bigger towing capacity. Interesting, as PRIUS here has a ZERO towing capacity.

Does the higher CO2 for Corolla affect you where you live?

 

Sitting in the rear seat is probably the one thing I didn't do. I would say, from looking, that the Prius offers more leg room but it's marginal, but in such cases margins do matter I suppose. I will be making a return visit soon so I can check it then. It's very rare for us to have adults travelling in the back of the car, maybe once or twice a year. Reason is because the third-party triple child seat takes some effort to get in and out so it's not something we do lightly.

The specs I saw for towing had the Touring Sports down as being able to pull more, but that may have just been the 2.0. It's not something I'm personally interested in so I glossed over it. I was hoping the info would be available on toyota-europe.com but it hasn't been updated yet, even though the car launches 1 March in Belgium.

The Prius would be about €2k cheaper for me right now because they've discounted the 2016 version by 15% to get rid of residual stocks. Same for the old Corolla/Auris, though the dealer said there's virtually no stocks of that left in Europe that aren't already spoken for.

I'm taking the Touring Sports out for a drive next week so maybe it'll convince me it's worth €2k more than the last Prius I owned (which, before I saw the Corolla, I'd have taken back in a heartbeat).

Higher emissions may affect the registration and annual taxes but both will be far less than what we paid/pay for the Hilux. Other things than just CO2 figure into the calculation.

 

So, in Belgium, you don't have transit lanes or whatever else it is in central London which gives an advantage to Prius there?

No - I'm not into towing either - I just noticed it when I looked up Toyota EU for weights.

I looked at a Corolla Hatch while my PRIUS was being serviced, and the back seat surprised me - I'm sure it felt smaller than the old model - and I wandered over and looked at Samantha, which seemed so bigger and airier. When I bought Samantha, I measured the 2016 Corolla vs PRIUS back seats - I wasn't sure if I might need 2 child seats for grandchildren - but it was only ever one needed.

I love wagons - we owned 3 or 4 when our children were younger - just so much more practical than a Sedan - and hatches weren't really a thing then (1980 - 1993) - we also had 2 VW Microbuses. [Pity I don't still have the Microbuses - they're worth a fortune now.]

 

Most of your comparison sounds entirely on target, however I do wonder whether the new Corolla may have turned your head a couple degrees too far. . . It's perfectly OK to personally prefer one car over the other, of course. That said, I can't buy the practical space comment. I've owned a Camry hybrid and my wife has had an Avalon, and there's just no comparing either car to a hatchback in which you can fold down the back seat. Even when the sedans had fold down seats or pass-through openings (for skis and the like), the fixed package shelf and its underlying structure fundamentally limit the use of what space is available.

If maximum flexible, usable cargo volume is a critical issue for a buyer, I don't see how a Corolla, any Corolla (not the Corolla hatchback, of course) could ever compete against a Prius.

 

Toyota talks is cheap. I thought I remembered that after the Hybrid Camry, we supposed to be the Tundra pickup. We are still waiting...

Toyota Gives Hybrids Testosterone, Plans Hybrid Tundra Pickup

 

Who knows, IF, they actually do a Tundra Hybrid, it may turn out to be a worthwhile vehicle. It's really important to penetrate through the stereotypes here. Maybe there IS place for such a vehicle for those who need, or even choose, to drive such things. Still, such a vehicle will always be vulnerable to being classed with the order for a meat-lover's pizza with extra cheese -- and a diet coke. . .