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Will there be a hybrid Sienna?

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by zenMachine, Dec 13, 2009.

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  1. Rhino

    Rhino New Member

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    Not soon in the US. The major reason is that there is no competition in the US. I don't speak for worldwide.
     
    #21 Rhino, Dec 15, 2009
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    but did you Odyssey Touring (which is the top model in Canada so I assume it's the same in the US?) have laser cruise control or HIDs or puddle lamps or driver memory or auto-dimming driver's side mirror? All of those are available on the XLE Limited AWD.
     
    #22 Tideland Prius, Dec 15, 2009
  3. Mister Two

    Mister Two New Member

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    The Prius actually came out before the Insight, although the latter got introduced to the US market first.
     
    #23 Mister Two, Dec 15, 2009
  4. Indyking

    Indyking Happy Hyundai owner...

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    Not back in 2006 when I bought it but I bet the new Odyssey model will have it. Honda has its new minivan in development for some time now and the initial thought was that they were going to debut it before the new Sienna but clearly Honda is waiting to play catch up... there are risks of doing that (if you know about video games, you know that the earlier launch of Xbox 360 was critical for its success compared to the yet more powerful PS3), but I believe, in his case, Honda is doing the right thing of waiting to improve and overcome the competition. Honda already has a well established considerably higher niche of Odyssey lovers compared to the Sienna. I just found remarkable that the MPG for the new 4 cylinder version of the new Sienna is rated only slightly better than the current V6 Odyssey (19/26 vs. 17/25); clearly showing that Toyota is struggling to keep up with Odysseys' FE. I'm not sure if I want a V4 minivan... not a good idea IMO. The Odyssey is remarkably FE for its size, partially because of its unique VCM technology, which really works... I have got as much as 31 MPG (calculated) in few hwy-only trips on it... keep in mind that my Prius, which is absurdly smaller, is delivering me hwy MPG in the high 30's when the conditions are brisk! Amazing! Here is the link for that VCM technology:

    http://minivans.about.com/od/glossary/g/VCM.htm
     
    #24 Indyking, Dec 17, 2009
  5. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    A hybrid Odyssey in the works, perhaps?
     
    #25 zenMachine, Dec 17, 2009
  6. Indyking

    Indyking Happy Hyundai owner...

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    Not yet... The new Sienna model, which is a 2011 model scheduled to hit markets early 2010, will not offer a hybrid version. Since cars usually run in a 4-6 year cycle before next generation, I doubt Honda is worried about launching a hybrid any soon since there will be no competitive pressure for it.
     
    #26 Indyking, Dec 17, 2009
  7. DeadPhish

    DeadPhish Senior Member

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    Honda is painted into a corner with it's very efficient but limited IMA system. It only works effectively on small vehicles. They tried moving it to midsizers in the Accord hybrid but as soon as the Camry HSD was launched the Accord hybrid was toast.

    That's why Honda floated the possibility of a diesel Odyssey along with a diesel Accord and a diesel MDX...then all three were pulled back.

    The IMA simply is not strong enough to transition to the midsized vehicles. But then diesels are not the answer either, at least not in N America. Unless Honda comes up with a new version of its IMA it's painted itself into a corner in the small vehicle segments; HCH, Insight II, CR-Z.
     
    #27 DeadPhish, Dec 17, 2009
  8. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Mazda Motor Corp has a hydrogen-powered minivan coming to Japan for lease beginning next March. The minivan will have hydrogen-combustion and an electric motor. Mazda is the Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. The company received permission from Japan’s transport ministry to test the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid. The Premacy is known as the Mazda5 overseas.


    The minivan has a generator-powered electric motor and a rotary engine. (And, the Mazda goes ummm…). Emissions are water vapor only. Lease costs will be Y420K ($3800)/month!

    Read more: Mazda’s Hydrogen-powered Hybrid Minivan Coming Next March
     
    #28 zenMachine, Dec 17, 2009
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    So the Odyssey was better value despite lacking all these features? There must've been some huge price difference in the US then btwn the XLE Limited FWD (since AWD will be ~$2k) vs. the Touring.


    And I agree, the 4 cylinder isn't for fuel efficiency. It's for marketing a lower base price.


    It's the same in Europe. you have all these small cars with small engines (or even bigger cars with tiny engines.. like a 3 series with a 1.8 litre engine) but as we can see here, smaller isn't always better because if you're having to make the engine work harder to get the results oyu want, you're gonna end up using as much fuel as a V6.
     
    #29 Tideland Prius, Dec 18, 2009
  10. DeadPhish

    DeadPhish Senior Member

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    According to Edmunds report of their First Drive of the new Sienna Bob Carter said that a hybrid Sienna was definite (?) ...but when. Edmunds is guessing soon.

    That's a stake in the heart to the others.
     
    #30 DeadPhish, Dec 18, 2009
  11. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I have a strong suspicion that a hybrid minivan of sorts is closer than we think. The addition of multiple power-trains in the Sienna seems to be setting it up for hybridization. The reason we don't have the Estima already is that it's "underpowered" by US standards, and a bit narrow. Sienna is probably a more likely platform, if they can get the powertrain right.

    My wife and I have told TMS at various functions that we'd be on the top of the list for a hybrid Sienna - IF it was built for economy (i.e. Camry) and NOT solely for power (i.e. Highlander).
     
    #31 HTMLSpinnr, Dec 18, 2009
  12. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    I'm hoping it will happen by 2012 at the latest...
     
    #32 zenMachine, Dec 19, 2009
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