Next-gen Toyota Prius: bigger, stronger, more Prius-like than ever before

We already know that Toyota has an eye to the future with the Prius, likely switching up the batteries and adding a plug-in option, but now we've got a little more news on what shape the next generation fuel-saver will take. According to Auto Observer, the new model (said to be showing up at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show) will sport a larger, 1.8 liter engine, a ten percent increase in fuel efficiency, and will undergo a fairly noticeable redesign (though we doubt it will end up looking like the concept car above). Pundits say the new Prius will be larger, may be available in a wagon version, and there are suspicions that Toyota will grow the brand and include a compact version of the hybrid as well. One thing's for sure: with an increase in production of 60 percent for the next iteration, the eco-friendly car is sticking around.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

[Mark @ Apr 29th 2008 1:44PM]

nice .. and here I thought the last design was lame.

now white people can be even dorkier with their "save the world" prius.

[Val£ntine @ Apr 29th 2008 2:03PM]

Well im glad you guys are not concept designers , i for one think its actually quite 'shapely' and appealing.

[Low Ranked @ Apr 29th 2008 2:33PM]

My girlfriend would beat me if I ever drove anything that gay looking.

Ever see anyone picking up chicks at the club in their Prius?

[Raheem @ Apr 29th 2008 2:40PM]

Ever see anyone so cool as to make their goal in life to pick up girls in a car at "the club?"

[riggs @ Apr 29th 2008 2:52PM]

Have you ever seen anyone period? come out the closet.

[JJV @ Apr 29th 2008 3:02PM]

Since when did only white people drive these?

I didnt know that it was a prerequisite so you could buy this car.

[Mark @ Apr 29th 2008 3:03PM]

Engadget readers have their votes in!

New Prius = VOMIT INDUCING

[Low Ranked @ Apr 29th 2008 3:09PM]

@Raheem:

Yeah! They do it in the movies all the time!

[Brian R @ Apr 29th 2008 4:31PM]

LOL! Actually, I pickup my wife in that car. SHE loved it.
And to comment on others, I'd say about 35% of the people that drive a Prius in my area ARE black. Stop stereotyping.
Plus, looks are one thing, performance is another. I love how people with giant whale-tales and fart-can exhausts make fun of this car when every time I blow them away off the line with my 100+pound-feet of torque thanks to the 0-RPM torque of the electric motor. Quite honestly I feel this to be MUCH more attractive that what most kids WILLINGLY do to their imports. LOL.
Put up or shut up I say.

[Pumapayam @ Apr 29th 2008 3:55PM]

Well, it's nothing new, the 2009 production model was already revealed here.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4212545.html

It will not look like that at all, I don't even know why they posted that photo.

[Geir E @ Apr 29th 2008 3:59PM]

That is the coolest family car I have seen in a long time. Probably not appeal to those who think the bigger is better -image of american cars are good. But to those who are used to seeing tons of boring german wagons on the road this is .. wow!

[Geir E @ Apr 29th 2008 3:59PM]

That is the coolest family car I have seen in a long time. Probably not appeal to those who think the bigger is better -image of american cars are good. But to those who are used to seeing tons of boring german wagons on the road this is .. wow!

[Jon Doe. @ Apr 29th 2008 6:03PM]

Guess what...real guys don't need cars to pick up women....unless you have some deficiency somewhere that is; and I ain't talking in the pants either.

[Citrico @ Apr 29th 2008 11:03PM]

Pumapayam, the thing you linked? Probably bull. Most spy shots like that are based on wild guesses and rumors, and maybe a prototype covered in black vinyl. They aren't going to just make the next one the same thing, but with flatter sides and more creases, especially considering Toyota in general is all about wavy panels and crazy soft curves. And, since that image is from a year ago, it's highly likely that if they DID use a development mule as a foundation, it was still in the old clothes.

If it IS just like the PM 'spy shot', I'll eat my shoe.

[hewholaughslast @ Apr 30th 2008 8:24PM]

the current prius looks great but this is ugly as hell

[macserv @ May 1st 2008 5:30PM]

OH GOD IT BURNS

[happy_penguin @ Apr 29th 2008 1:45PM]

The new Prius. Uglier than ever before.

[System48 @ Apr 29th 2008 2:10PM]

With gas prices going up, I could care less about the looks just as long as I'm getting 50+mpg.

[Tim @ Apr 29th 2008 2:16PM]

I know that shape probably helps make the car more efficient (wind resistance, etc.), but I'd really like to see a more, well, "normal" looking hybrid from Toyota.

[miko34 @ Apr 29th 2008 2:26PM]

Of course, even at 50 mpg, by the time this car gets released... gas will be $5/gallon and we'll still be paying a lot more per fill-up than we did in 2002 with a 20 mpg car at $1.25/gallon.

I'm amazed at anyone buying an SUV right now. Until we get off oil, I'll take any car over 40 mpg (even though choices are slim).

[Craig @ Apr 29th 2008 2:52PM]

I heard this morning that GM was reporting sales of full-size SUVs down 25% compared to this time last year. I, too, find it hard to imagine buying an Escalade at this point. Probably those SUV sales will continue to fall.

[sadida @ Apr 29th 2008 2:56PM]

Hey Tim, is the Camry "normal" enough for you? How about the Highlander? Both of them are available in hybrid models.

[JJV @ Apr 29th 2008 3:01PM]

harder better faster stronger

not so much.

[DakStaka @ Apr 29th 2008 5:01PM]

The F series is the highest selling vehicles in the US... and they are *the* ugliest thing.

[GreezyG @ Apr 29th 2008 1:46PM]

Anyone know how often you have to replace the batteries and how much it may cost?

[Rex @ Apr 29th 2008 2:44PM]

The batteries are designed to last the life of the car. Several people have put over 200,000 miles on first generation Priuses(Prii).

[Headset @ Apr 30th 2008 12:04PM]

I currently own a 2007 Camry Hybrid and I plan to replace the battery pack with a plugin compatible unit (High capacity Li-Ion) well before it wears out. I figure that at MOST 5 years from now, high capacity batteries will be $1000 or less. At the moment, I average 43MPG summer, 35MPG winter (New England).

[MeatyPi @ Apr 29th 2008 1:46PM]

how about making a prius that is not so god damn ugly that it makes me shit myself in utter disgust. Toyota seems to think people will only recognize hybrids as being super ugly, but they fail to see that many more would sell if they didn't look like a bag of shit.

[Christian @ Apr 29th 2008 3:20PM]

You do realize that Toyota sells the Prius at several orders of magnitude faster than they produce them, and that the Prius is perpetually on a months-long waiting list at most Toyota dealers, right? I think the biggest auto company in the world knows more about selling cars than you. In fact, I know it.

[parki @ Apr 29th 2008 4:03PM]

Function over form. Their design is limited by the need to make the vehicle aerodynamic while still having decent space in the interior (and enough room for the batteries!). I understand about the looks thing, but gas prices have gotten to the point where I care more about mileage than the looks (I have a pretty long commute). I would guess that gas prices will only go higher, and you might reach the same point as well.

[Brian @ Apr 29th 2008 4:55PM]

Meaty,

Please don't mince words. Tell us exactly what you think.

[MeatyPi @ Apr 29th 2008 6:04PM]

I don't know where you're from but every Toyota dealer I've been to has plenty of the cars, and really the only people who bought these cars were the type of people that wanted others to know they have a hybrid, but as of now more people are interested, and I believe they would sell many more if they were not so hideous. I for one would never consider owning such a car.

[Citrico @ Apr 29th 2008 7:03PM]

The Prius won't look like anything normal as long as a healthy portion of its market wants the world to know they're not driving a regular car. That's a huge part of why it's the most successful one.

While I would personally prefer something that looked more normal as well, you can't fault Toyota for knowing their market.

[jhaks @ Apr 29th 2008 10:39PM]

RTFA

[ugg.tryptophan @ Apr 30th 2008 1:30AM]

americans like conservative cars, but they also like to make a statement. The prius is ugly enough to blend in with the other fugly econoboxes, while distictive enough to show people that they care about the environment by driving a car that makes no sense (unstable, heavy, blindspots galore, toyota interior, price premium, looks like a steel manatee with wheels).

[Mobius_1 @ Apr 30th 2008 7:09AM]

@ Christian

Ferrari also has a very long waiting list (a year for F430 I think)

[fanman @ Apr 29th 2008 1:47PM]

Why cant they just make a NORMAL car that runs on the light from the environmentalists arse rather than one that's as ugly as sin.

[Temple @ Apr 29th 2008 5:02PM]

Its called the Civic Hybrid and Camry Hybrid.

[David @ Apr 29th 2008 5:49PM]

i think the Prius is getting to that Honda Civic point.. where i liked it at first, and then ALL I EVER SEE IS FREAKIN HONDA CIVICS.
i see the prius EVERYWHERE. and it lost its freakin appeal and uniqueness really fast when i saw them all over the place.
i hate them now, just fyi.

[Tony @ Apr 29th 2008 11:38PM]

FFS this is a concept released nearly TWO YEARS AGO.

CONCEPT.
TWO YEARS.
CAPS LOCKS!!!!!!

GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD.

[slarity @ Apr 29th 2008 1:47PM]

"Do you really drive one of those? You know when you stick your arm out the window going down the highway it makes the car turn."

[John Stracke @ Apr 29th 2008 1:52PM]

That's a feature. Most people don't know it these days, but, if you stick your arm out the window, you're signalling a turn. The car is just obeying you.

[Matt @ Apr 29th 2008 5:45PM]

Except that when you signal right, the car turns left.

[Sirius @ Apr 30th 2008 11:07PM]

@Matt

What?? if you signal right, the car will turn right... You'd know if you kayaked before; sticking the paddle into the water on your right would make you turn right... mostly the same concept here..

Then again.. if the car is so light I can turn it by hand-signalling... I don't think i'd want to drive that car anywhere that has +15kph winds...

[StephenD @ Apr 29th 2008 1:48PM]

A wagon version? Like on Little House on the Prairie?

[andy @ Apr 29th 2008 1:48PM]

I think it's obvious that they fail to understand why the prius sells.


It's a pretty normal commuter car that you can also put the kids in to run to the store or whatever, and it gets exceptional gas mileage.


Why can't they just go with what works? The cheaper it is and the more it looks and acts just like every other car (except gets 3x the gas mileage), the more it'll sell.

[bluestate @ Apr 29th 2008 1:58PM]

Well, no, that's not the case at all. The reason the Prius outsells its hybrid counterparts ten billion to one is exactly because it looks different. There already is a 'normal commuter car' that 'looks and acts just like every other car' - it's called a Civic hybrid. And it doesn't sell. Many people are willing to pay a premium for a car that gets modestly better gas mileage than a much less expensive economy car because it communicates their (perceived) commitment to the environment. Much like someone will pay a premium for a Volvo because it communicates its own set of values. You've got it backwards - the more hybrids look like everything else on the road, the less they sell.

[Mark @ Apr 29th 2008 2:26PM]

@bluestate

reason why the prius outsells the civid hybrid is NOT becuase of looks. try looking at some real facts and you'll see that the prius gets way better mpg than the civid hybid.

gee .. could that be a factor?

yep .. a major factor.

[Craig @ Apr 29th 2008 2:43PM]

Bluestate's right: If you follow the car industry and read the marketing research reports, the reason the Prius did so well when the Civic and Accord hybrids did not is that the Prius was BOTH (a) better technologically, and (b) was distinctive looking.

[bluestate @ Apr 29th 2008 3:11PM]

According to greenhybrid.com, the avg. MPG for a 2007 Prius is 48, Civic Hybrid is 46, a difference of 2 mpg. In 2007, the last full year for which sales figures were available, the Prius sold 181, 221 to Civic Hybrid's 32, 575. The Prius sells more than all other available hybrid vehicles combined (and that includes nearly 50,000 Camrys and 16,000 Highlanders of Toyota's own making). Meh - I'm just throwing these statistics out cause I find them interesting. As stated as well by Craig, Toyota has a powerful market differentiator. No one else can claim a Hybrid-only model - although that will certainly change in the next few years.