By now, most people would have seen pictures / read about the new Prius variant - the Prius v (as in 'vee' the alphabet and not the Roman numeral). More on that later. What I find amusing however is the way the public unveiling, at the 2011 North American International Auto Show (also known as Detroit Motor Show), was done.
When Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager Bob Carter unveiled the new family of Prius models / concepts, a slide poking fun of Bob Lutz, the former vice chairman of GM Global Product Development was flashed to the public, along with his famously quoted public remarks on the Prius - calling the Prius "a PR stunt" and "an interesting curiosity."
Image from Car UK.
Despite the recent recall-gate scandal in 2010, Prius continues to lead the hybrid sales chart in the US. Toyota Motor Sales, Big-T's US sales division closed the year 2010 with 140,928 units of Prius sold, and still remains the best selling hybrid in the world. It is one of the few bright spots for Toyota in the US, as other core models like Camry and Corolla took a serious beating, with Camry sales dropping 8.1% while the Corolla dropped 10.4% compared to 2009. Prius however still held its ground and extended 0.9% from 2009. Hyundai (up 23.7%), VW (up 20.9%) and Ford (up 19.5%) were the biggest gainers for 2010.
Toyota is known for its political correctness, its corporate events are impressive but very formal. So this sudden bout of witty humour is surprising, and may I add a rather positive surprise. It's not all doom and gloom for Toyota. Contrary to what certain factions of the American media are predicting, it would take a lot more than recall-gate to topple Big-T. Did Toyota took a big hit, yes. Will it ever recover its lead, certainly yes. Time will tell.
What is it?
While the company's teaser ads hint to a MPV type vehicle, its 5-seatear layout makes it more station wagon / estate than anything. Or if you want to follow those catchy new marketing talk - a crossover. But we understand that a 5+2 layout (2 'emergency' seats) is also in the plans. But don't expect it to be a proper 7-seater.
Power comes from the same 1.8-litre Atkinson cycle petrol-electric hybrid powerplant, with NiMh traction batteries.
When does it go on sale?
Q3 2011 in the US. Prices are expected to be similar to the Venza, however the two models are targetted at different group of buyers.
Sale on this side of the world?
Prius v shown in NAIAS is made in the context of the left hand drive American market. There have been talks about manufacturing Toyota hybrids on the State side, but this has been put on hold. We will need to wait for news on right hand drive models to be made in Japan (or maybe Thailand, which also assembles the current third generation Prius)
How big?
Prius v has an 80mm longer wheelbase, and is also larger on every dimension, with 50% bigger cargo space than a Prius.
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