The recent Detroit motor show saw the launch of Toyota’s new Prius. Sales of the hybrid have seen a slow recently in the US, but
The recent Detroit motor show saw the launch of Toyota’s new Prius. Sales of the hybrid have seen a slow recently in the US, but mainly due to fall of oil prices and the subsequent cheaper fuel. The new Prius faces the challenge of rekindling interest in the hybrid and first impressions hint that this is exactly what they have managed to do.
The new Prius has seen some minor tweaks in its appearance to give it an overall sharper look. This has been combined with a reduction in its overall weight and an increase in performance. The new Prius is more powerful and with the lowest drag coefficient on the market efficiency is up. The engine size has been increased to 1.8-litre but they have still managed to make it lighter, a trend that continues to the new electric motor that is now both smaller and lighter than the previous model.
The interior will not disappoint car leasing customers as it has on the whole maintained the current Prius layout. The narrow, centrally mounted instrument display has proved successful and easy to use and as such not been tampered with. With the new model there is however the option to isolate the combustion engine and run the car on electric power only.
Headroom has seen an improvement and with the overall length of the new Prius being increased and the installation of smaller battery packs, boot space has also been improved.
The new Prius is to be made available to car leasing customers this summer. Emissions figures along with performance data is expected to be released in the near future, at which point a better comparison will be able to be made to the older model.