Pioneer

Fascination: Toyota Prius through the ages - Pioneer

No, you couldn't win a beauty prize with a Toyota Prius until now. The design of the first generation can be described as polarizing at best and with a lot of goodwill. If you ask designers from other brands or industries, many find it difficult to show any restraint. But the Prius design became a trademark and thus ultimately an important success factor, because at first glance it was clear to everyone that this car was different. In all its previous generations, the Prius stood for a clear outward statement: I am different, I care about the environment, I live sustainably. Automotive do-gooderism was born and so the Prius became a sales success for Birkenstock lovers from its second generation onwards, especially in its home country of Japan or in the American eco-state of California. The situation was quite different in Europe, where the Prius was a slow seller with moderate sales figures over the years, as its design, drive technology and brand image prevented potential customers from being as open to technology as they should have been. Over the years, however, more and more cab drivers discovered that the hybrid drive reduced real consumption to a minimum in crowded city centers.

Toyota Prius - that stood for efficient, but anything but dynamic propulsion. According to Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, who has since retired, a car has to be fun to be truly successful. Fun and a Toyota Prius - at first, it was hard to see them going together. The design was not very dynamic and the small four-cylinder engine with electric assistance robbed the drive of any sportiness. After its market launch in Japan in 1997, the hybrid model went on a world tour from 2000. The initial 43 kW / 58 hp of the tired 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine plus 30 kW / 40 hp from the electric module became a somewhat brisker 53 kW / 72 hp and the electric motor also increased imperceptibly to 33 kW / 44 hp.

The second Prius generation, which celebrated its premiere in 2003 / 2004 with a hatchback design and was produced until 2009, was somewhat different. Many have been used as cabs over the years because the Toyota Prius is particularly economical to drive in the city center and hardly shows any wear and tear. The real consumption is barely more than five liters if you don't push the Toyota Prius too hard on the highway. The limit is 170 km/h anyway. This is partly due to the particularly efficient Atkinson cycle with its increased efficiency and the planetary automatic transmission, which transmits the power and torque of the combustion engine and electric motor to the front axle in a similar way to a CVT gearbox. When accelerating hard, the Prius howls without the 1.4-ton Japanese car getting up to speed particularly quickly. But it really can be economical. The eco-Japanese scores with a good amount of space in the front and especially in the rear. The approximately 400 liter cargo space can be significantly increased by folding down the rear seats. The Prius models from model year 2006 onwards are slightly better in terms of chassis and equipment, as the chassis, steering and interior details have been reworked. Top versions offer navigation, leather seats and better lighting, among other things.

The boring image of the previous generations is now forgotten, because the new fifth-generation Toyota Prius not only looks good, it is also more contemporary than ever in terms of technology. "I was asked to build a Prius that does away with the image of a cab and that people cry for when they see it on the road," says chief engineer Satoki Oya. The proportions of the 4.60 meter long Toyota Prius are more pleasing than ever, and not just thanks to the five centimeter flatter roofline. 4.5 centimeters shorter and a wheelbase stretched by five centimeters are simply good for the economical Japanese car. Rear-seat passengers in particular are delighted with the extra legroom in the second row. Toyota has improved the handling of the new Prius. The central 12.3-inch display is much tidier than before, while the climate control can be operated via a direct button. However, the hard plastic charm of the Prius, which does not fit in with modern times, and the digital instruments on the small seven-inch screen, which does not fit in with modern times with its outdated display, are annoying.

Depending on the market, the fifth generation not only offers plug-in technology, all-wheel drive on request, but also up to 164 kW / 223 hp and a 13.6-kilowatt-hour battery in the underbody for a range of up to 70 kilometers. With a higher energy density, the new battery pack has 50 percent more capacity and 30 percent fewer cells, occupies the same installation space and weighs approximately the same as the previous smaller battery. In some countries, the Prius is available with or without plug-in drive, while the standard hybrid is also offered as an all-wheel drive model, especially in the USA. The charging capacity of the PHEV, on the other hand, has been reduced from 3.3 to just 3.5 kilowatts. A full charge used to take at least two hours, now it will take up to four. The sleek front end with the V-shaped LED headlight lines and the narrow radiator slit looks like a mixture of the Hyundai i30 and a Lucid and comes around the corner with much more verve than before. The two-liter petrol engine produces 112 kW / 152 hp and the transaxle electric motor contributes a further 120 kW / 160 hp. The standard consumption is 0.5 to 0.8 liters per 100 kilometers.

Rolling Prius chicane, that's a thing of the past, because the Toyota Prius V is definitely fun, has more than enough power, especially as the top version, and shows this off more confidently than ever with its 19-inch wheel set. The steering is very smooth and always precise - with significantly less body roll than before. While the previous Prius struggled to reach 100 km/h from a standing start in well over ten seconds, the successor feels twice as fast at 6.8 seconds, even if 177 km/h maximum speed is a disappointment for the impressive engine power. But what is most exciting is the new driveability, because even the otherwise annoying intermediate acceleration is much smoother and quieter than before thanks to the new parallelism between engine noise and acceleration, despite the continuously variable transmission.