Link for gif.
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https://pressroom.toyota.com/icons-a...he-unexpected/

 

Prius Nightshade??

 

Nothing major. Just some facelift.

 

22 Prius Nightshade.

New 4Runner. Built in USA.

 

Embarrassing. And that's not really that unexpected at this point.

 

Prius in 2021 is indeed interesting vehicle, it's a product of transition and it shows it all over the place. It tried so much to predict future path both inside and outside that today it just looks funny. Unfortunately icon of tomorrow from 20 years ago is a parody of itself today. Prius has never been so irrelevant like it is in 2021.

 

pretty significant model for Toyota. Maybe their most important vehicle in history. Now, Toyota has a hybrid in practically every model line and models like the Sienna are hybrid only. I could definitely see Toyota retiring the nameplate as it sort of has completed its mission for the brand.

 

it was significant back when. now it's just an anachronism.

 

^^^^^^ Agree with both Jill and Bit. The only thing the Prius name is still good for today is a bunch of weird-looking chisels/angles outside and an awkward dash/console design that IMO look more at home on a Halloween mask than a car.

 

Absolutely. It was the most important car in their modern history. It was THE hybrid car that could take the revolution on it's shoulders or nameplate alone. But then something happened down the road as the car didn't see any adequate evolution in two generations. Maybe I expected too much from the pioneer to keep marching through, I don't know. Changes were so subtly incremental, you could call it refinement, but I would expect that to happen on vehicles adopting Prius powertrain while new Priuses have something newer inside of them. Having one of the worst if no the worst PHEV version ever produced carrying Prius name certainly didn't help either (zvw35). Toyota is such a weird company, they have guts to go into hybrid head on but then they backtrack on the whole electrification thing just letting it glide. Would really like to know if this is them loosing their touch with reality, millking the customers, threatening and then laying in bed with oil industry. And then the whole hydrogen fascination thing in small cars which is really hard to explain. One ill fated Mitsubishi had benchmark PHEV CUV for almost two generations before Rav4 Prime.

All I know this has impacted Lexus in a very big way, from the very first GS450h when they announced lithium batteries are just around the corner, hybrid prioritization of performance they went to bunch of nothing until LC500h pretty much. I understand market wants pedestrian hybrid powertrains across the lineup that's why RXh exists together with UXh and NXh and ESh but where was the flagship hybrid Lexus for all these years? Stuck in LS600h form for over a decade until LC500h rolled along. In the mean time all others have used PHEV exercise to transition to BEV, sure German PHEVs were nowhere near integrated and seamless as Lexus Hybrids are but the EV range was real and performance was real too. Lexus still doesn't have none of that to this day.
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Not sure what the Prius was supposed to evolve into. But, 25 years ago they created the Prius, today Toyota sells 44 different hybrid models worldwide. Lexus only exists in the UK and Europe because of hybrid tech....I think 96% of all Lexus models are hybrid.

In the US, there is now an all hybrid Sienna, all hybrid Venza, all hybrid Prius. Combined they sell 53,000+ units in the first quarter of 2021..

It is not hard to explain. If hydrogen was available at more locations, more people would buy small cars fueled by hydrogen. As the price comes down, it replaces pure gasoine or hybrid cars....The new Mirai is an electric car, using the LS500h battery + the RXh EV motor power by hydrogen...it is operates exactly like a hybrid car....190HP, 402 mile, of range, not battery heavy, 5 minute fill up time...... this sounds like the perfect seamless replacement for an I4 Corolla, I4 Camry, I4 RAV4....the perfect solution for those who live in apartments, condos, and those who have no garage and just street parking.

So Toyota is last to enter this area. The segment has settled and Toyota has done the upgrades to the car such as more sound deadening, dual paned windows...acoustic front...better paint....and Toyota now has the fast selling vehicle that has a battery.

The RAV4 Prime was the quickest-selling new car in March, second only to the Chevrolet Corvette,

 

With proper styling, Prius could have been the modern day equivalent of the 50's-60's VW Beetle. Both were game changers as small, technologically innovative, economical cars. I can accept most of the compromises made in the name of Prius's outstanding fuel mileage, but I cannot accept the outlandish styling. The bug's styling was funky, but cool: the Prius is just odd looking. Perhaps the "Nightshade" edition is an attempt to right the wrong, but a total redesign is called for to make an otherwise great car alluring to the masses.

 

x2^^^^......