2017 Prius Prime PHEV

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GRA said:
The Prime undoubtedly also benefits from the general opinion that it's better-looking than the regular Prius and also cheaper, especially in California.
+ 1 on that! The Prime is just quirky, like our older Leafs, the regular Prius is downright ugly IMO! If I were in the market to replace our '07 Prius it would be a Prime or nothing at all, and that would be without a state credit, as mine has none :(
 
Through February, Toyota's Prius Prime is being outsold by the Nissan LEAF by a factor of 3:1:
EV Sales said:
The first two months of 2018 saw this market jump into record levels (1.4% Market share, up from 1.1% last year), an amazing feat when one considers that the mainstream market is down 2% this year.

This is all thanks to the introduction of the new Nissan Leaf, that has been getting regular Top 30 appearances in the mainstream market, thanks to record performances, like the 3.720 registrations of last February.

This has allowed the Nissan hatchback to have an amazing 60% share of the Plug-in market, leaving last year Best Seller, the Toyota Prius PHEV, in the dust, watching its sales dive 21% YoY.
So far in the US, the Prius Prime is doing well among PEVs this year, second only to the Tesla Model 3. It will be interesting to see if the Prius Prime holds up better here than in Japan as LEAF sales ramp up. I suspect it will due to longer driving distances in this market.

I expect the PEV picture in the US will begin to change starting with the sales reports for March which come out next week.
 
The penny has finally dropped, via GCR:
2019 Toyota Prius will be restyled to look more like Prime: report
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ll-be-restyled-to-look-more-like-prime-report

. . . At just 108,661 deliveries across four different models, U.S. Prius sales were almost exactly half their peak in 2012—and many analysts suggest that the bizarre styling has played a role.

Now, a report from Japan suggests the conventional Prius hybrid will get a mild styling update for 2019 that will move it closer to the better-received Prius Prime plug-in hybrid version. . . .
 
GRA said:
The penny has finally dropped, via GCR:
2019 Toyota Prius will be restyled to look more like Prime: report
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ll-be-restyled-to-look-more-like-prime-report

. . . At just 108,661 deliveries across four different models, U.S. Prius sales were almost exactly half their peak in 2012—and many analysts suggest that the bizarre styling has played a role.

Now, a report from Japan suggests the conventional Prius hybrid will get a mild styling update for 2019 that will move it closer to the better-received Prius Prime plug-in hybrid version. . . .
Did they actually listen? If I were in the market for such a vehicle, I would NOT purchase a regular Prius, they're just too damn ugly! As an owner of a '07 I do like the Prius but I just couldn't stomach the looks of a new one. I'd seriously look at a Prime, not nearly as ugly as a regular Prius but I'm pretty good for vehicles nowadays so it will be a few years before I start looking again :)
 
jjeff said:
GRA said:
The penny has finally dropped, via GCR:
2019 Toyota Prius will be restyled to look more like Prime: report
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ll-be-restyled-to-look-more-like-prime-report

. . . At just 108,661 deliveries across four different models, U.S. Prius sales were almost exactly half their peak in 2012—and many analysts suggest that the bizarre styling has played a role.

Now, a report from Japan suggests the conventional Prius hybrid will get a mild styling update for 2019 that will move it closer to the better-received Prius Prime plug-in hybrid version. . . .
Did they actually listen?
Of course they did (along with looking at their sales), otherwise they wouldn't bother to restyle it, possibly even ahead of the usual small styling changes of a MLU. The Prime's no great looker either, but far more people find it acceptable, and they're only a couple of years into the current model cycle so they're stuck with it until the next gen can be designed and introduced.
 
Some wag should draw up a facelift for the Prius that consists of placing a large brown paper bag over the car, with just the taillights and headlights showing.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Some wag should draw up a facelift for the Prius that consists of placing a large brown paper bag over the car, with just the taillights and headlights showing.
Still better than the Juke, which should have the bag entirely covering it, lights and all! :lol:
 
Via GCR:
Follow-up: In the end, I bought a Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-i-bought-a-toyota-prius-prime-plug-in-hybrid

In an article last fall, I reached out to the GCR readers for a suggestion for what plug-in vehicle I should buy to complement my 84-mile range 2015 Nissan LEAF. The new vehicle, my wife’s car, had to handle a 16-mile daily commute, occasional 300-mile trips to Vermont (a place of few DC fast chargers), and be less than $40,000.

Readers generously gave their thoughts with over 500 comments, leaning heavily toward the 2017 Chevy Volt as the car of choice with the 2017 Prius Prime coming in second and the Chevy Bolt EV a third. But there was a surprisingly long list of other ideas including a number of people suggesting that we just wait for better options in the marketplace.

Thinking through the options, I quickly ruled out pure battery electric vehicles. There simply are not enough fast chargers in the New England area to have only battery electric vehicles in the family, unless one of them is a Tesla. Tesla’s longer range and extensive charging infrastructure could make it a workable solution, but that would involve waiting for a shorter range Tesla Model 3, something I was not prepared to do as our 2006 Prius was reaching an age where reduced reliability might occur.

This narrowed the options down to either a Chevy Volt or a Prius Prime (although a Kia Optima, Kia Niro, or Hyundai Ioniq PHEV might have also made the cut). . . .
He gives his reasons for choosing the Prime instead of the Volt.
 
Whether or not this is due to Toyota's collaboration with Subaru on the Crosstrek PHEV, I think it's long overdue:
Toyota teases all-wheel-drive Prius for LA auto show debut
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-all-wheel-drive-prius-for-la-auto-show-debut

. . . In studying the picture the company teased, with a Prius churning through the snow, it’s hard to come to another conclusion. The automaker says in a greeting-card-like teaser: “Fall is here, winter’s near, but the 2019 Prius performs on roads whether snowy or clear.”

Refreshed styling is also due for the Prius lineup, which will as a whole inherit more of the Prius Prime's styling cues. Many found the design of the Prime to be more cohesive and eye-pleasing, so that's a good thing.

For years, Toyota has sold a version of the Prius in its home market (Japan) called the E-Four, which retains the same two-motor Toyota Hybrid System up front but adds a third motor at the rear wheels, for rear traction, stability, and additional regenerative braking.

In the Prius E-four, the electric motor in back generates just 5.3 kilowatts—just over 7 horsepower. And now the parent company is sending this same system—and motor output—to the U.S. in the all-wheel-drive Lexus UX250h. . . .

If this is an AWD Prius, we’ll have plenty of questions—like whether adding that rear motor actually helps or hurts fuel economy. Check back for more in a few weeks, as we report from the show.
Assuming the Prius really will have an AWD option, the question is will the Prime also?
 
GRA said:
Whether or not this is due to Toyota's collaboration with Subaru on the Crosstrek PHEV, I think it's long overdue:
Toyota teases all-wheel-drive Prius for LA auto show debut
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-all-wheel-drive-prius-for-la-auto-show-debut
As GCR mentions, AWD has been available on non-plugin Prius since 2016 model year, just not in the US.

See https://www.hybridcars.com/2016-toyota-prius-offers-light-towing-and-awd-in-non-us-markets/ . I can't read Japanese but you look at https://toyota.jp/service/estimate_simulation/dc/grade?mode=list&CAR_NAME_EN=PRIUS&CAR_TYPE_CD=B&padid=ag341_from_prius_grade7_sim, you'll see mostly 2WD but some E-Four models. Also see https://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/environmental_technology/technology_file/hybrid/efour.html.
 
cwerdna said:
GRA said:
Whether or not this is due to Toyota's collaboration with Subaru on the Crosstrek PHEV, I think it's long overdue:
Toyota teases all-wheel-drive Prius for LA auto show debut
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-all-wheel-drive-prius-for-la-auto-show-debut
As GCR mentions, AWD has been available on non-plugin Prius since 2016 model year, just not in the US.

See https://www.hybridcars.com/2016-toyota-prius-offers-light-towing-and-awd-in-non-us-markets/ . I can't read Japanese but you look at https://toyota.jp/service/estimate_simulation/dc/grade?mode=list&CAR_NAME_EN=PRIUS&CAR_TYPE_CD=B&padid=ag341_from_prius_grade7_sim, you'll see mostly 2WD but some E-Four models. Also see https://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/environmental_technology/technology_file/hybrid/efour.html.
Yes, they mentioned it, but I don't understand Toyota's rationale for not bringing it here prior to this at all. They say most Prius'are sold in California and the south, so most of them don't need AWD. So why introduce an HEV AWD version of the RAV4, which sells really well in California? Not everyone needs or wants a CUV, and the Prius (at least gens 2 and 3) has considerable utility owing to its large cargo space.
 
LeftieBiker said:
GRA said:
LeftieBiker said:
It's skiing. Most Prius-driving Calis love to ski. I wonder if they ski slowly, and wallow a lot...
Of course it's for skiing, which is why the Prius should offer AWD.

No argument. I was only joking about the wallowing.
I know you were joking, just wanted to be clear. As the green types are more likely to X-C than downhill ski, skiing slowly and wallowing is about right. :lol: At least, it is for me, as I've never been better than a mediocre X-C skier - I've got stamina and coordination but so-so balance, so while I'm fine on the flat or uphill, my downhill abilities are limited.
 
GRA said:
LeftieBiker said:
It's skiing. Most Prius-driving Calis love to ski. I wonder if they ski slowly, and wallow a lot...
Of course it's for skiing, which is why the Prius should offer AWD.
Toyota Prius gets AWD-e version, refreshed looks for 2019
https://www.autoblog.com/2018/11/28/toyota-prius-awd-e-version-refreshed-looks-88h4fk7/
 
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