NAIAS – 2009 Toyota Prius Revealed
January 13, 2009 by David Twomey
Update: Fuel consumption figures corrected (4.7L/100km)
Toyota has unveiled an all-new 4.7-litre per 100 kilometres rated third-generation Prius hybrid vehicle today at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, in Detroit.
Described by Toyota as the benchmark for cars of the future, the Prius has delivered superior fuel economy and ultra-low emissions to more than one million owners worldwide for more than 10 years.
It says the midsize third-generation 2010 Prius will offer even better fuel consumption ratings, enhanced performance, and innovative design features. It will be quieter, roomier, and equipped with advanced standard and available features such as a moonroof with solar panels, four driving modes, Intelligent Parking Assist (IPA) and steering wheel touch controls that display on the instrument panel.
Since the first generation Prius was introduced in 1997, more than 670,000 have been sold in the US.
In designing the new, third-generation Prius, Toyota says its engineers combined a careful refinement of existing systems with an aggressive measure of new technology necessary for the future of automobiles.
The new Prius will be built using processes that reduce pollution in every stage of vehicle life, from production and driving, through to disposal.
The third-generation Prius extends its record of continuous improvement in fuel economy. The first-generation Prius, which was rated 5.7L/100km, was replaced by the current model, which is EPA rated at 5.1L/100km, combined city/highway. Using a combination of technologies, fuel efficiency was increased to an estimated 4.7L/100km for the new Prius.
A larger and more powerful 1.8-litre Atkinson-cycle, four-cylinder engine will power the new Prius.
Toyota says contrary to conventional wisdom, the larger engine actually helps improve fuel economy. By making more torque, the new engine can run at lower average rpm on the highway. When operating at lower rpm, the new engine uses less fuel. Fuel use is especially improved in cold-start conditions and at higher speeds.
A multi-information display panel that monitors fuel and energy consumption is standard. It provides feedback on the Prius’ efficiency using three different displays to help the driver acquire economical driving habits.
The patented Hybrid Synergy Drive system in the 2010 Prius is 90 percent newly developed with significant improvements over previous models.
In designing the new Prius, aerodynamic performance was an important factor. The goal was to create a beautiful silhouette, while not compromising function.
Designers preserved the dynamic triangle form of the current model–instantly recognisable as a Prius–but made alterations to the overall profile, pillar position and angle. The front pillar, extended forward, helps refine the performance-focusing, shaped form.
The design of the new Prius’ front and rear corners are sharp, sporty and aerodynamic. Strong side character lines, rising from front to rear, define the glazed geometric shape. Viewed from the rear, wider rear treads provide a solid, firmly rooted stance.
Dimensionally, the new Prius has the same wheelbase as the current generation.
The new Prius received more wind tunnel hours of testing than any other Toyota in history, resulting in the cleanest aerodynamic profile of any mass-produced vehicle in the world.
By focusing on the shape of the body, under floor, wheelhouse liner and shape of the wheels, the designers of the new Prius were able to reduce the coefficient of drag (Cd) value to 0.25, compared to 0.26 for the previous model.
Touch sensors on the steering wheel switches are designed to reduce driver eye movement for better concentration on the road. When the driver touches the audio or info switch located on the steering wheel, a duplicate image is displayed on the instrument panel, directly in front of the driver.
This system, called Touch Tracer, is the first system in the world to allow steering wheel controls to read out on the instrument panel.
The new Prius was designed to comply with class-top level collision safety performance in each global region of sale, and to accommodate increasingly strict safety requirements in the future.
The development of the Prius has required applications for over 1000 patents
filed across the world, of which 292 are US applications.
US pricing for the 2010 Prius will be announced shortly before it goes on sale
late spring.
People are going to need their opera glasses to read the dash info.
I’m not totally convinced with the “Touch Tracer” system, would need to see in action.
Where did they get the engine from?No way would it be a Toyota engineered motor.
Hi, not sure where you are getting the fuel consumption figures from in this article.
The current Prius is rated at 4.4l/100kms, therefore i believe the new one will be around 3.9l/100km…
Looks better than the current one…
yea, I think the new one should be around 4.0L/100km… in terms of our Australian standards – the american testing must have alot of city driving (unless the conversion was from the wrong miles?)
Much more elegant compared to the current though do we really need all those gadgets? I guess somehow you would have to justify spending $40k on a car like this. Toyota should have a basic base models too so poor buggers like me can consider one :P
The 1.8L motor sounds very much like the Corolla engine.. though if someone could confirm it that would be great.
looks okay. the features on it helps justify the 40K+ AUD price range.. or in other countries.. its price is approximately 20-25% more than the Camry (stock/base)
and Fasthonda… whats wrong with Toyota designed/engineered engines?
care to point out why you think Toyota isnt capable of designing engines? like point out historical wise..
and please compare with context… using economic engines and pointing out its lack of performance doesnt count…
Ok, time for me to be a maths nazi. Check your conversions guys – Milobob is right – should be closer to 4.0L/100km
looks ok i guess. those lights look very simmlaer to the one Nissan 370Z
Milobob, the engine is an atkinson-cycle engine. It’s different to a conventional engine in that it sacrifices power to increase efficiency. wikipedia has good articles on it. This is certainly not the corolla engine.
I like it. Looks like a Usaine Bolt version of a Corolla.
Atkinson cycle is also used in the unveiled Lexus IS Hybrid.
A sporty hybrid? Good thing it has new styling, looks heaps better than the old…the dash might be a little distracting with all those instruments and such. Fuel consumtion is amazing, but is it worth the probably hefty price tag?
How about giving us the option (by the flick of a switch)to charge the batteries instead of waste the solar energy on air conditioning for the times when the car won’t be picked up until after sundown????? probably makes too much sense for Toyota!!!
Yeah, fuel consumption numbers are wrong.
The current US Prius does:
48 MPG (4.9 L/100 km) city and
45 MPG (5.2 L/100 km) hwy.
Note, this is not a typo, the highway figure is worse than the city.
^Makes sense, a car like the Prius isn’t probably made for highway driving.
Toyota quotes the Prius currently gets 4.4L/100K. Significantly better that the 6.1 EPA rating you quote.
What am I missing here?
Just to clarify I’m not a complete idiot! I saw no comments until after I posted, I blame using IE at work.
i drive a pug and even i think this looks ugly, i guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder ;)
Definitely looks better than the current one. Hopefully it’ll look better in the flesh, cause it’s no beauty in the photos.
Is that Touch Tracer offset towards the middle of the dash?
Sorta like the Yaris?
If so, what’s their obsession with instrumentation in the middle of the car? Cheaper to build perhaps?
I know it’s been done before in cars like the Alfa GTV of the 80s’, but at least it had the tacho right in front of the driver, even if the other dials were in the middle of the dash.
I looked at the Yaris before buying a Mazda 2 recently, & quite frankly, the centre mounted display was annoying, whilst providing no tangible benefit.
How does taking your eyes off the road to look at the centre of the dash for speed, temp, revs, fuel, etc, any better than looking quickly down at a display right in front of you? Like virtually every other vehicle ever built?
I don’t think the F18s are being retro-fitted with offset info displays; I’m reliably informed that they put the important stuff right there in front of the pilot.
I know the Pre-Arse is no Jetfighter, but why mess with a proven system?
Quote [Article]: The new Prius received more wind tunnel hours of testing than any other Toyota in history, resulting in the cleanest aerodynamic profile of any mass-produced vehicle in the world.
Is that any Mass-Produced TOYOTA in the world or than any NEW Mass-Produced vehicle in the world TODAY?
Quote [Article]: “By focusing on the shape of the body, under floor, wheelhouse liner and shape of the wheels….”
What have the Toyota design-nerds found a shape that works better than ROUND wheels.
The “Touch Trace” Technology sounds impressive – although it could be distracting for the driver to have all these words flashing up on the display panel as s/he rolls her finger over the various buttons or scrolls through the menu options etc
However; it’s good to see that Toyota has actually/finally introduced something NEW to the international automotive industry instead of copying BMW and Merc-Benz [and their Voice Command System]
See…. I can say something Positive in relation to Toyota
Take that back, Wheelnut!
You don’t have to say anything positive about Toyota.
Leave that to all the CPAs out there.
Wouldn’t Voice Command be safer than Touch Tracer?
Hit a button on the wheel & speak, rather than hit a button on the wheel & then look at the middle of the dash?
Is Voice Command adaptive?
Can you ask “How the Duck could you possibly be low on fuel?”
Would it respond “I don’t know Dave….”
:-)
As far as I am aware The Voice Command System is only designed to help you adjust the stereo sat-nav and call people on your mobile phone – I ‘m not sure if it can adjust the air con etc..
Although it’s not as advanced as the system KIT had where you could interact with and talk to your car..because you have to train it so it gets used to your speech patterns
Interesting press blurb from Toyota. Even came close on some facts. Touch trace sounds very similar to HMI (Ford speak for Human Machine Interface) A screen between the larger guages on all new Euro Fords and FG. Also linked into Sync in the 2010 Tuarus.
Also the consumption figures sound great till you compare them with the real life drive figures published in the L.A. times on the Fusion Hybrid of a combined cycle of 52mpg in a Mondeo platformed / sized family car.
Wheelnut,
I’m hoping that the HAL 9000 will someday make an appearance in a car. (2001 A Space Odyssey in case you’re not old enough! )
“Open the Drivers’ Door, HAL”
“I can’t do that Dave”
Still the stuff that Voice Command can do now sounds like a good thing.
Spam word is Toyota. You gotta laugh.
So the new Pre-Arse is sportier, eh?
Why don’t they run them at the Celebrity Race at the Grand Prix?
Make it 5 laps: 1st & last laps on electric only; anything goes for the laps in between.
CA,
Any word on if you can tow with the new Prius? I know it has been an issue for some time.
Salesman,
No towing on Hybrid period for now. That includes the Lexus RX400h!
I hope it works better (voice command) than the automated Telstra operator.
Voice command
“Start car”
car confirms
“Did you say Yellow taxis Brisbane?”
Telstra is the Toyota of the Communications World.
Many people use it by default, not knowing there’s heaps better out there.
BMW’s fitted with Voice Command will pretty much allow you navigate the I Drive, so most things you can do/change in I Drive (communication, navigation, climate, entertainment)
I don’t get why people keep posting what there spam word is. Am I missing the joke here?
Horse,
They are inferring that the word they are prompted to enter is ironic considering the topic of the blog.
Toyota just haven’t moved far enough ahead with this car.
No plug-in, cannot run electric only for any reasonable distance.
Adding a solar panel to the roof to power the ventilation system is just a joke.
Check out the Chinese BYD F3DM and F6DM, they are both dual mode hybrid that is plug in and can run on electric only for 100km before the engine starts up to charge the battery. Battery charges in an hour, 70% done in 10 minutes. Sub 9 second 0-100 too.
Going by my normal commute, I would only have to go to the petrol station once a month at most. I think it is rated at 16 kWh/100km too, so the first 100km of any trip costs just over $2. Compared to the Prius which would still use about 4L (>$4) of fuel.
Telstra the Toyota of the Telecomms world.LOL
Definitely an insult to Toyota that one.
Toyota managememnt could never be as incompetent as Telstra’s.LOL
Agree looks alot better than current model.
Gasp the first toota i have ever liked it looks really good
Supercujo Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Toyota just haven’t moved far enough ahead with this car.
You say that as if it is the first time they haven’t ;-)
Bret Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
“Note, this is not a typo, the highway figure is worse than the city.”
Ummm… the petrol engine kicks in above 60km/h, so of course the fuel economy is going to be worse on the highway. Around town it only needs to kick in under hard acceleration or when the NiCd battery pack become depleted.
VW F, yeah I knew and understood that, but I was just trying to head off the inevitable posts from people claiming I got it back to front.
Hey, I think this looks better than that new hybrid-only Lexus. I forgot what its called, but this actually looks good. I’m sure a lot of people will need it to grow on them first. They actually added a sporty touch to the car, I think thats great! Only thing I don’t really like is the interior, too grey and bland. Although its modern enough, they should’ve tried making it look more like the Kluger’s, now thats a nice interior! Truly classy.
Steve
‘Looks better’, ‘more elegant’, ‘looks like a 370Z’?? What the!? Seriously, where are your glasses? Get yourself to OPSM. It is as butt ugly as it ever was, over priced, and marketed to car noobs. Congrats to Toyota for seeing and exploiting the market.
This is much better looking than previous prius and that new Lexus HS. Also much better looking than the honda insight, which has a rather ugly side profile and tail design. However, i’m interested in the pricing of the new prius as the honda insight is meant to be priced at 30k or less. Even though insight will use less fuel with a less advanced hybrid drive train, you will need to cover a lot of miles to cover the initial extra spending in choosing a prius over an insight.
As for comments about plug-in, toyota has said that they will start offering plug-in feature for prius in late 2009. Whether it will actually happen is another matter. It sure is good to read all car companies heading towards the green path, but how many of them will actually be sold in large enough numbers to make a difference to CO2 output is yet to be seen. My guess? Non will sell in large enough number to make a difference to CO2 emission, at least not for few more years. Truth is, passenger cars actually contribute a small percentage to the global CO2 emission.
It just shows that there isn’t anywhere much for the hybrid to go to. They can improve engine efficiency and the life expectancy of the battery but what else? It does look better but even 4.0 litres per 100kms isn’t all that mind blowing. Diesels are already there if you drive them carefully which you have to do with hybrids anyway to get the claimed economy. It would have been a lot more mind blowing if Toyota had used their 1.4 litre diesel. That would have gotten staggering economy, likely to be 85+ MPG. But they didn’t, surprise surprise.
If anyone is interested Pickles Action house have used examples 2006 models with very low klms for 21-22k.LOL.
So much for legendary Toyota resale values.LOL.
Good proposition at a more realistic depreciated price and they have all the fruit.
Or LPG Hybrid like the forthcoming Hyundai Lantra Hybrid.
Should cost less than a moped to run.LOL.
Stick with the well worn AU ute. Only cost me $28.00 to fill the other day and get nearly 500klms around city/suburbs. Highway 650klms plus and sitting on 120klm/hr.
Cmon Toyota how about photovoltaic paint?LOL.
Realcars- is that like the “chameleon” paint PPG used to make which changed colours depending upon the light?
There are a number of Limited Edition Mitsubishi Magnas with paint like that
Toyota never had ‘legendary’ resale values.
Hope you lot havn’t forgotten the Yanky gallon is smaller than a “proper” gallon when you converted your figures.
Economy is not outstanding really given that like Alex says a meduim size diesel can get that now and is a lit more pokey to drive when you want.
Toyotas lesson on how to make a bland, boring car look butt ugly!
The Mazda 929 of the early 90s had solar panels in the sunroof that activated fans to draw out hot air if the car was sitting in the sun for extended periods.Toyota just put a different application on it.
Wow, toyota ripping off someone elses idea from nearly 20 years ago! Shouldnt be surprised really, the design of their cars is still at least 10 years behind :)
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This vehicle is pure GENIUS..
Even the WORLD LEADERS in copying, copied it with its cloned insight [yawnnn]
haonda have to sell theres under $30k, otherwise as per now, everybody will buy the origonal and best.
Love the solar powered sunroof, stolen idea from Mazda [Who make the CX7, that this website will test soon!]
Cheers
F-0