Has the Toyota Prius range become irrelevant?

Syndrome · 07-09-2021, 08:39 PM

Toyota are selling many hybrid powered cars but not many Prius models (last month a total of 29). When the Prius was released it had the market to itself. However car makers keep thinking people who buy these alternative fuel vehicles want to drive hideous, look at me, abominations on wheels. As Toyota has added hybrid as an option to its more normal looking vehicles (Camry, Corolla, RAV4 etc) sales of the Prius models have continued to drop.

Franco Cozzo · 07-09-2021, 10:22 PM

Has it ever been relevant?

Virtue signalling flogmobile driven by people from Keepcupistan

**EASYBOSS** · 08-09-2021, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Has it ever been relevant?

Virtue signalling flogmobile driven by people from Keepcupistan

Thats a bit harsh, I drive one

MercuryT · 09-09-2021, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Has it ever been relevant?

Virtue signalling flogmobile driven by people from Keepcupistan

This.

FG50T · 10-09-2021, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Has it ever been relevant?

Virtue signalling flogmobile driven by people from Keepcupistan

Pretty daft comment to make. No difference between a Prius and the rest of the Toyota Hybrid range - Camry, RAV4 etc which demand is huge for.

Ford17 · 10-09-2021, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FG50T

Pretty daft comment to make. No difference between a Prius and the rest of the Toyota Hybrid range - Camry, RAV4 etc which demand is huge for.

Not completely daft - the Prius was deliberately designed to look different, so those driving them could potentially be identified as eco-crusaders.

Franco Cozzo · 10-09-2021, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FG50T

Pretty daft comment to make. No difference between a Prius and the rest of the Toyota Hybrid range - Camry, RAV4 etc which demand is huge for.

Most popular comment in this thread though

**kypez** · 07-09-2021, 10:35 PM

was going to say the same thing as above. They were never relevant and didn't really start any meaningful revolution per say. And nowadays, people don't need the "look at me being green" type cars anymore. It had its 15 minutes.

**Rallye Sport** · 07-09-2021, 10:36 PM

The answer is in the OP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syndrome

As Toyota has added hybrid as an option to its more normal looking vehicles (Camry, Corolla, RAV4 etc) sales of the Prius models have continued to drop.

Although I think the thread is more about having a crack at the aesthetics of the Prius.

DTFRMONT · 07-09-2021, 10:42 PM

Once the Camry Hybrid became available, the fleets started switching to those, being Australian-made at the time. This is what happened at my work, we had a couple of Prius's in the fleet. At changeover time, the Camry Hybrids were a thing, so those were the Prius replacements.

xxx000 · 08-09-2021, 04:58 AM

Did most of us even know what the term 'virtue signalling' meant, let alone say it, until Fox and SkyNews used it relentlessly to try to denigrate the other side of politics?
Re Prius, they've been around for many years and had the market almost to themselves originally.
How well are they selling now in markets other than Australia?

Syndrome · 08-09-2021, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxx000

Did most of us even know what the term 'virtue signalling' meant, let alone say it, until Fox and SkyNews used it relentlessly to try to denigrate the other side of politics?

People belittling those on the other side of the political divide? Shock horror! BTW, it goes both ways.

**Rallye Sport** · 08-09-2021, 02:14 PM

South Park did an episode on the subject of Prius drivers so it must be a thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnFAAdOBB1c

rare ss · 08-09-2021, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

South Park did an episode on the subject of Prius drivers so it must be a thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnFAAdOBB1c

Smung levels are at an all time high!

roKWiz · 08-09-2021, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

South Park did an episode on the subject of Prius drivers so it must be a thing

Seems a popular option for US car dwellers atm.

https://cheaprvliving.com/forums/

**Polyal** · 08-09-2021, 06:33 AM

But it and others started the conversation and change.

Havent seen the L/100 of late but there are some ICE cars getting right down into the 4-5L/1000 which is amazing.

It was always a stop gap and perhaps pathed the way for more development.

**GO FURTHER** · 08-09-2021, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Havent seen the L/100 of late but there are some ICE cars getting right down into the 4-5L/1000 which is amazing.

When my Mustang was off the road for 4 weeks, due to being rear ended last year, the insurance company provided me with a Camry Hybrid hire car for the duration.

It averaged 4.5 litres/100 and was amazing.

I read an article comparing the annual running cost of a full electric car versus a Hybrid like the Camry.

And at 4.5litres/100... It actually works out on par, with running a full electric one.

That's taking the average cost of electricity to charge it, plus the annual road tax per kilometre the state Government in Victoria has introduced on electric cars, over 15,000Kms per year.

Not to mention that an electric car currently, can be much more expensive to buy than a Camry Hybrid.

For the time being, a Hybrid is the way to go if low running cost is important.

**Polyal** · 08-09-2021, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

When my Mustang was off the road for 4 weeks, due to being rear ended last year, the insurance company provided me with a Camry Hybrid hire car for the duration.

It averaged 4.5 litres/100 and was amazing.

I read an article comparing the annual running cost of a full electric car versus a Hybrid like the Camry.

And at 4.5litres/100... It actually works out on par, with running a full electric one.

That's taking the average cost of electricity to charge it, plus the annual road tax per kilometre the state Government in Victoria has introduced on electric cars, over 15,000Kms per year.

Not to mention that an electric car currently, can be much more expensive to buy than a Camry Hybrid.

For the time being, a Hybrid is the way to go if low running cost is important.

Only issue there are that plenty of TDi gets 5L/100 or less and dont have hybrid systems. But TDi is not cheap to service so TCO comparisons would be interesting

Vesper Martini · 09-09-2021, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Only issue there are that plenty of TDi gets 5L/100 or less and dont have hybrid systems. But TDi is not cheap to service so TCO comparisons would be interesting

The Fiesta ECOnetic promised 3.7l/100
there's only 3 on carsales all under $6K talk about cheap motoring

**Charliewool** · 08-09-2021, 07:44 AM

One too many zeros makes it even more amazing?

jpd80 · 08-09-2021, 09:37 AM

Prius’s job is done now that most of Toyota passenger vehicles have a hybrid version, it’s hard to stand out when so many vehicles are now hybrids

Hawkeye84 · 10-09-2021, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpd80

Prius’s job is done now that most of Toyota passenger vehicles have a hybrid version, it’s hard to stand out when so many vehicles are now hybrids

This right here!

The Prius took the brunt of research and development and Toyota is now reaping the rewards.

Toyota have smashed it with their Hybrid pricing strategy.
A $2k upsell from the ICE models, its a no brainer for more frugal customers.

Other brands are struggling to meet that kind of walk up in their pricing trees because obviously from a factory level, they got to factor in their R&D and incorporate Toyota royalties to use the patented technology.

Wretched · 09-09-2021, 10:44 AM

Prius will likely be set up as another sub brand inside of Toyota. It already is known quantity so they may use it for their EV range.

whynot · 09-09-2021, 07:45 PM

An interesting question.

From an engineering perspective, I do admire the Prius. It is hard to believe that the original model is nearly 25 years old. The batteries from the time (late 1990's) are small, big, and heavy when compared to similar sized batteries of today. All credit to the Toyota engineers who persevered with eking out minor efficiency gains here and there, and then cycled through eking out more minor gains.

Unfortunately, the vehicle gets somewhat of a bad rap simply because the pious greenies keep shoving it down people's throats.

In many respects, I agree, the Prius has done its job. Once taxi drivers started swapping their Ford Falcons for Prius, one could tell that vehicle reliability and durability of a hybrid drive train was not an issue. I like the RAV4 hybrid. I am less impressed with the handling of the Corolla and Camry hybrid - but the hybrid drivetrain is good across all three.

I suspect that over the next decade battery capacity in hybrids will keep getting bigger and the ICE will be shunted to emergency backup power source.

whynot · 09-09-2021, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whynot

small, big, and heavy

Opps... that doesn't read correctly. What I meant to say is "small in capacity, big in physical size, and heavy in weight"

Vesper Martini · 10-09-2021, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whynot

An interesting question.

From an engineering perspective, I do admire the Prius. It is hard to believe that the original model is nearly 25 years old. The batteries from the time (late 1990's) are small, big, and heavy when compared to similar sized batteries of today. All credit to the Toyota engineers who persevered with eking out minor efficiency gains here and there, and then cycled through eking out more minor gains.

Unfortunately, the vehicle gets somewhat of a bad rap simply because the pious greenies keep shoving it down people's throats.

In many respects, I agree, the Prius has done its job. Once taxi drivers started swapping their Ford Falcons for Prius, one could tell that vehicle reliability and durability of a hybrid drive train was not an issue. I like the RAV4 hybrid. I am less impressed with the handling of the Corolla and Camry hybrid - but the hybrid drivetrain is good across all three.

I suspect that over the next decade battery capacity in hybrids will keep getting bigger and the ICE will be shunted to emergency backup power source.

The original Prius is coming up 15 years old, a quick look on carsales has them around 9K asking.. that's a little high I would have thought.
there was has always been a lot of talk about replacement battery cost which seems to be about $3 grand plus fitting I assume that the original type. Cost of lithium would be more.

but does anybody know do all these 15 year old cars need their batteries replaced?

or are they soon to be sent to the scrapheap because that's a lot of money to spend on an old car?

whynot · 10-09-2021, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

The original Prius is coming up 15 years old, a quick look on carsales has them around 9K asking.. that's a little high I would have thought.
there was has always been a lot of talk about replacement battery cost which seems to be about $3 grand plus fitting I assume that the original type. Cost of lithium would be more.

but does anybody know do all these 15 year old cars need their batteries replaced?

or are they soon to be sent to the scrapheap because that's a lot of money to spend on an old car?

This mob has a replacement battery pack at $1350 for a first generation Prius

https://drhybrid.com.au/

Talking to a few taxi drivers, they are onto their second Prius battery and are quite happy with the cost. One taxi driver I spoke to years ago said that is annual fuel bill in swapping from a Falcon wagon to a Camry hybrid dropped $6,000 in a single year. That would certainly pay for the odd battery swap.

As an aside ... talking to my colleagues in the home battery market, they believe that home storage (solar PV + battery) wont really take off until there is a solid upstream supply of recycled EV car batteries. Their logic is that a typical EV battery will be around, say, 80 kWh when new. When it gets down to, say, 50kWh the owner will replace it. That second hand battery bank (even at 50kWh capacity) will sell into the home battery market and have plenty of useful life left. All of this is nice talk, but implies we really wont see a large take up in home batteries happen until mid to late 2030's.

**kypez** · 10-09-2021, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whynot

As an aside ... talking to my colleagues in the home battery market, they believe that home storage (solar PV + battery) wont really take off until there is a solid upstream supply of recycled EV car batteries. Their logic is that a typical EV battery will be around, say, 80 kWh when new. When it gets down to, say, 50kWh the owner will replace it. That second hand battery bank (even at 50kWh capacity) will sell into the home battery market and have plenty of useful life left. All of this is nice talk, but implies we really wont see a large take up in home batteries happen until mid to late 2030's.

This is spot on. House requirements don't need the same level of efficiency and car batteries will more than do the trick to give batteries a second life. And yes, I think big battery capacity for homes will only turn up later in the decade. But it will turn up which is good.

But, there will be V2H tech like in the F150 that will let you use your car as a backup in case of an outage at least. Probably don't want to use your car daily as backup using up cycles.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Vesper Martini · 10-09-2021, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whynot

This mob has a replacement battery pack at $1350 for a first generation Prius

https://drhybrid.com.au/

Talking to a few taxi drivers, they are onto their second Prius battery and are quite happy with the cost. One taxi driver I spoke to years ago said that is annual fuel bill in swapping from a Falcon wagon to a Camry hybrid dropped $6,000 in a single year. That would certainly pay for the odd battery swap.

As an aside ... talking to my colleagues in the home battery market, they believe that home storage (solar PV + battery) wont really take off until there is a solid upstream supply of recycled EV car batteries. Their logic is that a typical EV battery will be around, say, 80 kWh when new. When it gets down to, say, 50kWh the owner will replace it. That second hand battery bank (even at 50kWh capacity) will sell into the home battery market and have plenty of useful life left. All of this is nice talk, but implies we really wont see a large take up in home batteries happen until mid to late 2030's.

That's a great price for the Camry battery, I noticed they didn't have 1st gen Prius?

Actually digging deeper the $1350 is for a refurbished battery - not sure what that entails as there is not much to refurbish, certainly not New. so I would compare that with getting 1/4 tank of petrol $3,130.70 is their price for the Toyota battery(a full tank)

**Raptor** · 10-09-2021, 07:36 PM

I’ll tell you what I think is irrelevant and also sell only to a niche market.

V8 Mustangs

.