I have to say it always mystified me why car manufacturers made thier hybrid cars so ugly and generic. I thought the first Prius was a pretty forgettable shape. Even though I always thought that Toyota would be the first on the market with one, it looked like something my Grandad would drive.
But the new one? That;’s better. The rear shot in particular is striking and it looks far sharper than the old one. I’ve only seen the press shots here, but yesterday the UK press launch took place in Stockholm and Toyota GB,’s Scott Brownlee was sending Tweets from his Blackberry thoughout the unveiling with some interesting facts, here’s a few of his gems from yesterday:
“Prius battery can be and is 95 per cent recycled.”
“Prius factory has 50,000kW – half needed – solar panelled roof”
“Petrol engine runs Aitkinson cycle. That’s nothing to do with meat-only diet, rather more bang per squeeze from the combustion cycle.”
Now THAT’S clever. Engine geeks, look here. It made my head hurt, but very clever…
“Extra power from battery due to better cooling from faster spinning fan. Power now 27kW, up 2kW from before”
“Engine uses recycled exhaust gases to warm up engine block quickly so it can reach peak efficiency quicker, and so use less fuel.”
“New 1.8 petrol engine works less hard than previous 1.5 so burns less fuel for a given speed. Counter intuitive, but clever.”
Actually makes a lot of sense. When I sold Lexus in the 90’s the LS400 was actually better on fuel than the old GS300.
“Not all hybrids are equal. Prius is full hybrid so can run on electric motor alone as well as use it to assist the petrol engine.”
“Prius head up disay has cool blue colour. Can’t wait to try that at night”
Last head up I looked at was a Corvette and I wasn’t impressed. I’d be really interested in driving this, both night and day…
“Now talking about solar roof. Grey, rain filled skies here today mean no chance to test in action!”
Audi used to have it as an option on the A8 at suicidal prices. If that’s standard, we’ve moved a hell of a lot in the last decade. Who says car technology isn’t advancing?
“New Prius big inside. Wheelbase same as Avensis plus flat floor give good rear head and leg room”
“Drag of just 0.25 amazing in car of this length. Prius would make great touring race car as it has low drag and light but strong bodydhell”
Big inside, flat floor? Low CD? Sounds like the perfect photographer’s car to me. Just need to find a way to get my hands on one.
How long before they introduce a hybrid Hi Lux Double Cab? Now you’re talking…
Many thanks to Scott’s prolific Tweeting, just wish we could have been there, I’ve only ever seen Stockholm in the winter time!