Third-gen Prius, twice the ugly and three times the smug.

Looks way better than the current one. Thought the Honda Insight is much much beautiful.
 
the Interceptor said:
Not enough power.

Let's assume the solar panel on the roof generates 100 Watts when exposed to sunshine. That means that you gather 0.1 kWh in one hour. The electric engine has 36 hp, which equals 48 kilowatts. That means that the engine will eat the one hour charge of the panel in 7.5 seconds.

100 Watts is plenty to run a few smaller electrical systems though.
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Car makers currently use small solar panels that stick to the window with suction cups. It plugs into the 12V plug and acts as a trickle charger while the car is in transit on the back of a truck.
 
Blind_Io said:
Car makers currently use small solar panels that stick to the window with suction cups. It plugs into the 12V plug and acts as a trickle charger while the car is in transit on the back of a truck.
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A small solar panel might be sufficient as a trickle charger, but that also shows how much power you can draw from those things - not much.
 
ahpadt said:
Yes. It also has a pre-riced front spoiler. Great job, Toyota! :rolleyes:
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You're right, all it needs are those stupid fang things in it's front air dam.

I like Blind_Io's idea of using the trickle charger to keep the batteries charged and power a couple fans, rather than just power a couple fans. Surely the largest carmaker in the world could make something like that happen on it's largest selling model, right?
 
Every car needs the solar cooling thing. Nothing worse than getting into a freaking oven in the middle of a hot day.

Otherwise, Toyota's design team is still pretty much hopeless, though this is better than the Matrix and Corolla and looks almost handsome in profile. A shame about the awful lights and stupid, messy detailing.
 
2Billion said:
Every car needs the solar cooling thing. Nothing worse than getting into a freaking oven in the middle of a hot day.

Otherwise, Toyota's design team is still pretty much hopeless, though this is better than the Matrix and Corolla and looks almost handsome in profile. A shame about the awful lights and stupid, messy detailing.
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Mazda's 929 had it way back in 1990, so its nothing new.
 
Looks a bit Mazda2 / new Fiesta at the front imho (I think it's the nose, discounting the large front spoiler), but the rest is like.. the same, and weird headlights are weird.
It's still a Prius, bleh. It looks even more like a fish than the old one.
 
I think that "solar-powered heat venting" is brilliant. Every car should offer that.

edit: In other news, the rest of the car is utter shit.
 
fbc said:
I'll go against the tide - I reckon it's an improvement on the current model's styling, and yes I realise that is faint praise.
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+1
 
thedguy said:
No one picked up on the 300cc larger engine with more power? Isn't the whole point of the Prius fuel economy, why put in a larger engine than it needs...or did it gain weight (not good on the environment).
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I picked it up, and also picked up the fact that 98hp from a 1.8 in 2009 is pathetic.


Summary:
-Looks like shit
-Overpriced
-Underpowered
-Driven by smug, self centered idiots
 
The one and only thing I really like about the Prius is it's becoming the technology test-bed at the cheaper consumer end of the market.

LED headlamps, lane departure assist? These features will be in all Toyotas, and in fact, all cars, in the not to distant feature. Kinda nice seeing it on a car that people will actually buy.

That being said, I probably wouldn't buy one. The solar powered air circulation system though, although not new, is brilliant and should be on every bloody car.
 
Posmo said:
I picked it up, and also picked up the fact that 98hp from a 1.8 in 2009 is pathetic.


Summary:
-Looks like shit
-Overpriced
-Underpowered
-Driven by smug, self centered idiots
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Its a miller cycle with no supercharger. Runs intentionally down on power but with great efficiency. I don't see why they don't just supercharge it and have the best of both worlds though.
 
starfox07 said:
Its a miller cycle with no supercharger. Runs intentionally down on power but with great efficiency. I don't see why they don't just supercharge it and have the best of both worlds though.
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Then it would be a supercharged fish.

What's the point in that?
 
Why is Toyota following Nissan with that weird headlight design?
 
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