Next generation Prius Prime

2018 Clarity Plug-in Hybrid – Plug-in Hybrid Technology | Honda

 

Personally, I'd like to see a flat and flush cargo area when the rear seats are folded down, like the regular Prius. Most likely have to give up the 20 KW battery, or give us the option of having a smaller 10 KW battery (hopefully batteries will shrink enough) to provide a flat cargo area. I like sleeping in the back of my Prius for camping trips.

 

Never mind just the tow, what about carrying capacity? 450kg minimum would be appreciated. That and a trunk floor that's as flat and identical to the standard Prius.

Anyways, here's hoping anyone inside Toyota is reading this thread. I am right in saying that they've looked around here before as pointers from the products' owners, right?

....

..

And maybe a front bench seat, or at least a most imperceptible division between the front seats?

 

get the battery under the hatch floor, instead of on top of it.
but a better question instead of all of our personal desires:

what would help toyota sell more. that's more important than what i want.

 

Sales people that understood the car would help. My sales person knew nothing about the car. On the test drive I had to explain to her what the "B" was on the shifter. It's such a marvel of technology and engineering, if the sales staff understood it, they would be flying off the lots.

 

yep, and that hasn't changed since the original prius 17 years ago.

 

Why bother learning about a Prius, when the majority of your job is spent churning through cookie cutter Camry's and Corolla's to customers who could care less about cars in the first place?

Yeah, better sales people and actually advertising the Prime to a wider audience would do wonders. Until then, only Gas Prices skyrocketing will return the Prius lineup to its past glory days.

 

Video record option using that HD/4k camera in front of the rearview mirror.

 

In Toyota Camry Hybrid 2018, battery is already under the hatch floor. So Toyota already know how to do it. It is now just a matter of time, when Prius Prime battery will be under the hatch floor. I am positive the next version of Prime, will have the battery under the hatch.

 

i hope you're right, but the hycam is not a plug in.

 

I'm not sure about the advertising, but just having the Prius nameplate is perhaps enough exposure. From the InsideEVs sales chart, the Prime has shown that it has been kicking nice person since its debut. Most likely because it's the cheapest Prius on offer after incentives. We should note that whenever an EV or PHEV booms in sales unexpectedly, availability is often constrained by the speed of battery production. So lets not hope of a dramatic uptake so soon as that could lead to dealers really hiking up the sticker price.

 

"optional: self-driving above 45 mph (70 km/h)" unlikely since Toyota can't even get the Prius Prime to stay in its own lane with steering assist how can they ever get self driving to work? I have been dealing with Toyota on steering assist for months with no results. The steering assist in the Prius Prime does not function the same as it does on every other Toyota model. Toyota claims that the system works as designed. I wonder why the design doesn't carry a different name than the systems in all other Toyota models. Since it works in every other Toyota model but not in the Prius Prime. The service manager at my dealer drove a few different Prius models with steering assist and stated clearly that it doesn't function in any way similarly to the other Toyota models. This is somewhat weird as it is marketed as the exact same product with the exact same capability. If you are looking for safety you best review the Prius Prime safety suite functionality prior to purchasing as Toyota has no fix for this safety problem.

 

You bought the wrong car if you wanted a car to keep in itself in its lane. Nowhere does TSSP mention that capability.

 

Very true, I had a supposed Tech answer a question as to why all 4 doors + trunk do not unlock from touch.
He said Toyota did this for Security reasons, all the new cars are doing this now. It turns out after looking at the thin Owners guide, that I had changed my habit and was not holding the handle long enough ( 2 sec) . I corrected my method. This BSer hopefully will get caught someday.......

 

So basically you want an i3 REx with two more cylinders and a more optimized engine, and towing capacity? You'll have to pay a lot for that. Like, a lot. (You're asking for a lot of very expensive things together in the same car, really.)

Also note that larger cylinders work better for thermal efficiency, and IIRC the LIVC cycle that Toyota's using works best with 4 cylinders and really wants a minimum of 3 cylinders to avoid having a huge intake plenum. So, I'm guessing that the smallest displacement you get is in the 1.8-1.9 liter ballpark. (To get that 42% thermal efficiency, you might even be looking at a three-cylinder derivative of the Camry engine, or something odd like that. And, vibration wouldn't be pretty there.)

 

As you say if they really knew the car they’d sell a lot more. If the salesperson is require to buy that model in order to get the job, then an expert on every model could be produced at the Dealership. As it is now, the customers inadvertently feed info to the salesman.

 

Gen4 Prius in general, and the Prime even more, are gaudy. People who want a Dodge Charger will buy the Dodge Charger - the Prime tailend isn't fooling anyone. It's sort of like New Coke - make it more like the competition and less like what the current customers like. The competition isn't buying, and current customers are put off by it.

I like all the technical dodads on the Prime, but dump the light show and bring back a rear wiper. And while you're at it, get rid of all those expensive parts mounted in the bumper. A minor bump shouldn't cause major damage.