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I always wondered why Toyota hasn't done this sooner...take an existing great MPG car and add the Hybrid Synergy Drive....it should kill the Prius MPG.
Well the law of diminishing returns. You get more bang for your buck if you can improve the mpg of a larger vehicle than a small one that already gets great mpg. In addition, it's easier to hide the extra cost in a larger vehicle. The subcompact market is quite price sensitive and those looking there are probably looking for a low-cost option (either as a first car or as a 3rd or 4th car). Also, Toyota needs to be able to downsize the unit first. The inverter in the first Prius was quite large and now it's almost the size of a 12V battery.
Originally Posted by jadu
is this US bound?
This exact model, no. We are getting the Prius c (same shifter, same 16" alloys as the Yaris Hybrid above and same specs - 99hp, 1.5 litre HSD).
Originally Posted by Fizzboy7
Thought about the same overlap with the Prius C.
New widemouth grille is more fallout from the trend Audi started in 2005. Ford is going the same route, as well as others. Ten years from now when everyone has huge, gaping grilles, someone needs to remember the 2005 Audi A6 and all the heat it got.
I don't know the idea behind Audi's grille design but for Toyota, a smaller upper grille allows for more aerodynamic tweaks. A larger lower grille means they can put both radiators (engine and A/C) down at the bottom and use the smaller upper grille for airflow into the inverter radiator (on hybrid models)
03-09-12, 07:04 PM
