In these dismal economic times, no one likes to talk about annual sales projections, but Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA, did just that at last week's press launch for the 2010 Toyota Prius
in California's Napa Valley. Toyota expects to sell 100,000 examples of the 2010 Prius from the time it goes on sale in May until the end of 2009.
Come 2010, the company hopes to return to its 2007 sales pace and sell 180,000 Priuses. You'll recall that Prius sales fell 12.3 percent in 2008 (to 158,884) after a steep drop-off in demand in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps, it's the 2010 Prius' 50 mpg city/49 mpg highway EPA rating that Toyota thinks you won't be able to resist. As we've reported, the car's 50-mpg combined EPA number is a full 4 mpg better than the second-generation car, and it shames the 2010 Honda Insight, which only manages 41 mpg combined. We'll see in the coming months how significant that difference really is in real-world driving.
Credit for the fuel mileage improvement goes largely to the new 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, which, thanks to its bigger torque band, is simply able to operate at lower rpm than the second-generation car's 1.5-liter engine. This is the same basic engine you'll find in the Corolla, but the version in the 2010 Toyota Prius runs on the Atkinson cycle and incorporates cooled exhaust gas recirculation and exhaust heat recovery for the benefit of efficiency and emissions.
On its own, the 1.8-liter makes 98 hp at 5,200 rpm and 105 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. With an additional 36 hp from the car's nickel-metal hydride battery pack, net hybrid system power is 134 hp.
Other efficiency improvements this year include a smaller, lighter front transaxle that's gear-driven rather than chain-driven to reduce friction. A new planetary reduction gear allows the front-drive electric motor to run at higher rpm -- a 13,500-rpm max compared to a 6,400-rpm max previously. The inverter is also smaller and lighter, thanks to improved cooling.
Although the 2010 Toyota Prius has the same wheelbase as before, it's built on new platform architecture -- the MC global platform already used by the Corolla, Matrix and Scion xB. Torsional rigidity is up 50 percent, and a stiffer front end, along with increased caster, promises better straight-line stability -- definitely lacking in the second-generation car. The steering gear is also rigidly mounted to improve on-center steering feel -- also a classic Prius shortcoming -- and the brakes are four-wheel discs for the first time.
Encouragingly, curb weight is only up 110 pounds (to 3,042), lending credence to Toyota's 9.8-second 0-to-60-mph claim. Top speed is up to a brisk 112 mph.
You can read more about the green tech in the 2010 Toyota Prius on Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor blog.
And there are more details about how Toyota will market the 2010 Prius on Auto Observer.
altimadude00 says:
09:12 AM, 03/ 2/09
I was looking at the picture of the battery pack above (presumably) and I was thinking it looked quite small. Perhaps my perceptions of such things need to change, but when I think of battery pack, I think of rows and rows of cells (daisy chain of car batteries).
Not that I give any less credit to the enginuity of miniaturizing. The car looks sharp and the technology is top notch.
roar02ram says:
12:10 PM, 03/ 2/09
A better than average Toyota redo, if you ask me (see Corolla/Matrix for a bad one, RX for an average one).
redliner says:
12:31 PM, 03/ 2/09
BOOORING!
But still, it's an improvment on the old one in many ways.
Off topic...
Wouldn’t it be nice if Honda had an 'EcoSport' version of the hybrid Civic? It would have all the suspension, wheels, and interior bits from the Si, but with a hybrid power train.