Toyota has revealed more details about its new Prius V vehicle, a hybrid wagon/crossover and the second of its planned family of Prius vehicles.
The vehicle, which will make its full debut in North America this autumn, is one of three-planned regional variations of the same car: the Prius+ in Europe and the Prius A in Japan will both be offered with a third-row seating option that will not be available in North America. These cars will use a smaller, higher output lithium-ion battery underneath the centre console that makes room for the additional seating.
As for the Prius V itself, it will carry a 1.8litre 2ZR-FXE engine, a 60kW traction motor and a 201V Ni-MH battery pack. It includes the exhaust heat recirculation system that was first introduced in the third generation Toyota Prius and uses a heat exchanger to transfer waste heat to the engine’s coolant system.
The Prius V is a larger vehicle and so the suspension components have been redesigned to improve handling and ride quality, with pitch and bounce control working with the vehicle’s suspension to cancel porpoising when the vehicle travels over uneven surfaces. There are a number of efficiency based improvements too, such as a lightweight synthetic leather material produced with low CO2 manufacturing processes; and a high efficiency JBL GreenEdge stereo. The vehicle has an estimated fuel economy rating of 42mpg combined.
Its sales target for the Prius V is about 10-15 per cent of conventional Prius sales in North America – around 15,000-25,000 vehicles per year.
