mmarshall

Hope this isn't a re-post....I did a pre-search, but didn't see it.

Toyota introduced the extended-length, station-wagon Prius V in 2012 (I did a review on it when it first came out), and is now pulling it from the American market. Although the Ford C-Max gave it some serious competition, it's interesting that the V model of the Prius didn't sell better than it did, as it offered the high-quality, reliable Prius hybrid powertrain wth a lot more room inside than other Prius models. It did, of course, cost more than some other Prius models, and many Prius buyers wanted a cheap reliable hybrid at a low price. And the Prius V did not suffer the C-Max's teething problems and/or overestimation of the vehicle's actual gas mileage. Nevertheless, despite all of that, it simply did not sell in the numbers tat Toyota feels is necessary to keep it in the American market, so it is leaving.


http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...del-years.html

Another Hybrid Bites the Dust: Toyota Prius V Packs It in After VI Model Years

By Steph Willems Nov 20, 2017
1
Okay, the “V” stood for “versatility,” but the largest Toyota Prius family member’s obvious usefulness hasn’t earned it a lasting place in the American automotive landscape. After arriving for the 2012 model year, the lengthened hybrid, which boasted 50 percent more interior volume than its Prius sibling, will disappear from the U.S. after 2017.

Early sales of the Prius V significantly bolstered the volume of the hybrid family, which also includes the Vrtucar-approved Prius C. However, the model’s first full year of sales proved to be the V’s high water mark. Sales declined each year thereafter, and much of the blame rests on another vehicle in the Toyota showroom.

Confirmed by Green Car Reports, the 2017 model year will be the Prius V’s last in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

“After six years and nearly 160,000 units sold in the U.S., the decision was made to end Prius V production for the U.S. and Puerto Rico this December,” said Toyota’s East Coast communications manager, Corey Proffitt.

SEE ALSO: 2017 Toyota Prius vs Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid

Marketed as a midsize MPV in its home market, the Prius V appeared as a large-ish five-door variant of the popular third-generation Prius. Indeed, the model was larger in all dimensions. Five inches longer and an inch wider that a stock Prius, the V offered more legroom and headroom, especially in the rear, and offered 34.3 cubic feet of rear cargo area. That meant a 10-cubic-foot gain over an entry-level Prius.

Naturally, the nameplate’s renowned fuel economy suffered. At the time of its debut, the EPA assigned a combined fuel efficiency rating of 42 miles per gallon, some 8 mpg less than its smaller sibling. American sales in 2012 amounted to 40,669 units, dropping to 14,840 in 2016. Over the first 10 months of 2017, sales are down 33 percent compared to the same period last year.

So, why did it suddenly become so hard to sell a hybrid?

Besides the pressure placed on traditional hybrids by their sexier plug-in rivals, the second year of U.S. Prius V production coincided with the introduction of Ford’s C-Max, in both hybrid and plug-in form. (Say goodbye to the C-Max while you’re shedding a tear over the Prius V.)

SEE ALSO: 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Review

The biggest blow to the Prius V came from within the Toyota family, however. The downfall of the wagon-ish Prius V came as the popularity of compact crossovers soared, and America’s most popular hybrid crossover just happens to be the RAV4 Hybrid. Despite travelling nearly 10 fewer miles per gallon on the combined cycle, the RAV4 hybrid has three things even green car buyers can’t resist: a taller ride height, all-wheel drive, and a brawnier appearance.

Many of the 45,000 sales recorded in the RAV4 Hybrid’s first model year (2016) likely came from buyers who, a few years earlier, would have happily driven home in a Prius V.

Proffitt claims the Prius V, built on the older New MC platform (the fourth-gen Prius adopts Toyota’s TNGA modular platform), will continue in some markets. Assume a long life in Japan, where the model remains a raging success. As of press time, TTAC hasn’t been able to confirm the Prius V’s departure from the Canadian market, though the model remains the only Toyota vehicle that hasn’t adopted 2018 pricing on the division’s website.

[Source: [url=https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1113889_toyota-prius-v-hybrid-wagon-ends-u-s-run-rav4-hybrid-took-its-sales]Green Car Reports]

A version of this story originally appeared on The Truth About Cars.

Filed under: Compact Cars Hybrids Japanese Toyota
Tags: 2017 Toyota Prius V, 2018 Toyota Prius V, prius, prius v, toyota prius, toyota prius v

Toys4RJill

Didn't think this vehicle would last.

mmarshall

Well, in the end, I guess the Ford C-Max, and Toyota's own RAV-4 Hybrid just became too much for it. Personally, I don't consider the RAV-4 Hybrid to be direct competition to the Prius V. Obviously, however, the public does....and they're voting wth their wallets. The RAV-4, though, is a true crossover SUV.....not so with the C-Max and Prius V, which are essentially small hybrid wagons.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

there's other factors - i thought the interior of the V was AWFUL (cheap, cheesy) - definitely not class competitive, at all. also, the engine is noisy and the vehicle really slow.

mmarshall

True, but probably nothing that you couldn't also say about other Prius models. Toyota used Cracker-Jack materials inside the Prius to help keep the weight down for those 50+ MPG figures, especially in the 3Gen and 4Gen versions. Same reasons for the Garden-Slug 0-60 times...low power and tall gearing.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Ford is discontinuing the U.S. spec C-Max in the middle of 2018, to focus on other Electric projects.

Source

mmarshall

Sorry to hear that. I actually liked the C-Max (more so than the Prius V). The spouse of one of my colleagues at the pool/recreation center got a new one not long ago....well-pleased with it.

If they do drop it, though, then the obvious question will be what they replace it with.....if at all. The Focus line has only conventional gas and pure-electric models. There is (currently) no Hybrid vision of the Escape in the U.S. market....ironically, Ford had intended the C-Max to make up for the lack of a gas/electric Escape, when the last Escape Hybrid was dropped. I never did quite understand that marketing......the C-Max is not a true crossover SUV like the Escape, but simply a small hybrid wagon lacking AWD. A new small Ford SUV, of course, will soon debut.....the EcoSport, but, as I understand it, there will be no hybrid version.

RXSF

I see tons of these around SF. Using 2016 figures to explain why the Prius V is leaving the market would be an amateur error as the new prius came out in 2016 and probably nobody wants to buy the old model.

venom21

I’ve only ever seen this car as a Taxi. Never as a personal vehicle so its not surprising.

mmarshall

Yeah.....I rode once or twice in a Prius cab, when I needed to get to the PT re-hab center last year after knee surgery (they hadn't yet cleared me to drive again, and my brother couldn't take me that day). Crude, noisy, and uncomfortable, especially with a sore knee that couldn't bend much in the tight seating, and hurt even mildly extended and over bumps. The Crown Vic and Fusion cabs, with their much larger interiors, were, of course, a lot more comfortable. But the Prius is popular with cab companies for obvious reasons.....its basic mechanical reliability and extremely low operating costs almost guarantees a business-profit.

JDR76

My coworker has one. He hates driving. Enough said.

mmarshall

Yep, that was one of the reputations the Prius had.....the car for people who hate cars LOL .

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

lmao probably because i live in florida with mostly boring straight and flat roads i've come to dislike the driving i have to do for the most part too. i test drove a prius v because i actually considered it before i came to my senses and then got the jeep (after almost getting a crv touring).

mmarshall

Well, on that, count your blessings. These flat and so-called "boring" roads in the Deep South are at least (mostly) glass-smooth from the warm climate, lack of freeze/thaw cycle, lack of road salt, and lack of the constant wall-to-wall pounding from traffic they get in places like D.C-Baltmore, L.A-SoCal, and, of course, across the Snow Belt from Maine to Minnesota. Although the roads here in the D.C. area, on average, aren't as torn up as they are in cities and areas further north and west, trust me......there's a reason why I wanted the Lacrosse's ride comfort. Of course, I realize that Florida is not entirely without its road-problems, either......the Karst topography, with all that limestone, opens up sink-holes everywhere, often with little or no warning.

The CR-V is probably a little more tightly-built than a JGC, but (as you no doubt learned for yourself on the test-drive)...there simply is no comparison on the road. The CR-V is an appliance, if a reliable one.....the JGC, a true pleasure-machine.

Sulu

I read somewhere that Ford will be bringing out a hybrid crossover utility vehicle (Ford Escape Hybrid, anyone?).