Prius C & Prius V

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

The Prius lineup is being expanded, as expected. We've seen the Prius plugin, and the Prius V -- but the fourth, smaller model has only been hinted at. But now, we know a little more about it -- it appears to be an tweaked version of the FT-CH that we saw about a year ago:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/03-toyota-prius-c-concept-1294686679.jpg (http://green.autoblog.com/2011/01/10/toyota-prius-c-concept-detroit-2011/)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/01-toyota-prius-c-concept-1294686678.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/02-toyota-prius-c-concept-1294686679.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/06-toyota-prius-c-concept-1294686681.jpg

I think it looks pretty darn good! What do you think?

****

Here's the official unveiling of the new bigger Prius V:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/01-toyota-prius-v-live.jpg (http://green.autoblog.com/2011/01/10/toyota-prius-v-detroit-2011/)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/02-toyota-prius-v-live.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/03-toyota-prius-v-live.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/06-toyota-prius-v-live.jpg

It's a bit larger than I personally need, but I like the option for those who need a car larger than the Prius itself.

[SlowSRT4]

The Prius C looks decent, but is only a concept. No amber side reflectors. No rear reflectors. No CHMSL. No exhaust. No engine. Mesh headrests.

Needless to say, if that car ever sees the light of day, it will be radically different from this concept.

[palmer_md]

Any efficiency numbers on the C? I saw the V is only 40mpg. A bit of a hit from the 45 in a standard Prius.

[evmavin]

If they built the c as an EV it would be hot. I'm tired of concepts that end up as ugly production cars when they were great to start.

[NeilBlanchard]

I would like it a lot more if the rear wheel track was narrowed (a la EV1), and I think the earlier FT-CH rims were more aerodynamic than these. But these are concept wheels -- notice that they are mirror image on the two sides of the car? That costs way too much to do in production, so hopefully they go to a symmetrical design that is very smooth and flat.

There are several indicators that it could weigh a lot less than typical cars: check out the mesh seats (though who knows if this will survive to production). And the Toyota 1/X that was the precursor to the FT-CH which is the car this Prius C is based on -- weighed just 926 pounds curb weight!

The rear has the hard chines in the right place for a good Kamm back. Notice too, the air exhaust vents on the back -- this would greatly improve the air flow through the car, and help fill in the low pressure zone at the back of the car -- similar to Aptera.

I hope the drivetrain is something like:

plugin with at least a 6kWh lithium pack
<1L 3-cylinder parallel / serial hybrid (similar to their current Synergy Drive)

And if it was like the 1/x drivetrain -- 500cc serial hybrid with a 12-16kWh plugin lithium pack, I would be ecstatic!