In my mind, Toyota is the smartest car manufacturer in the world at the moment. They’ve continued to invest in various potential future drivetrain options whilst others have naively pinned their colours to the EV mast too early in the piece.
One of those drivetrain options is the hybrid and Toyota, as the originators of passenger car hybrid technology over 25 years ago, has led the way with a series of ever improving models that have embraced it. And yet, here we are, some 18 months after the announcement of the best and most efficient version of the Prius to date, with Toyota Australia apparently adamant that they’re not going to import this car into our market here.
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TA appear oblivious to the ever growing potential for really good plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). It’s clear that a lot of consumers want to drive electric cars for one reason or another, as witnessed by the sales of Teslas and, increasingly, BYDs locally. But for many there are too many negatives associated with a full electric car, be that a lack of widespread charging capability or resale values by way of two examples.
Hence, the PHEV can make a lot of sense. It’s also clear that the US market is diverting down that road at a rapid rate of knots, listening to the recent outputs from Ford and GM, for example.
The latest, fifth-generation, Prius is a game changer. It no longer looks like it was designed by a committee of origami experts. The styling is sleek, modern and could even be labelled as sporty. By all accounts, the car drives extremely well in normal day to day motoring. And, like all Toyotas, you’d put money on it being very well put together.
Originally, this latest Prius wasn’t going to be sold in the UK either. But now Toyota UK have come to their senses and seen the opportunity. They’ve just put the PHEV version on sale there at a price which just undercuts the Tesla Model 3.
With around 220hp (165kW) from the 2.0-litre internal combustion engine and 13.6 kWh hybrid powertrain, it’s fast enough for most people. But, if you choose to use it in full electric mode, it’ll do around 80km, and that’s sufficient for plenty of consumers. Plug it in at home on a standard plug and it’ll recharge overnight.
And if you want to drive further afield, then the range capability in full hybrid mode is close to 1000kms at 4.8-litres per 100km, apparently.
Given the choice of this Prius or a Tesla Model 3 at similar money, I’d choose the Toyota every time. The Prius is a tickle smaller, and that, in today’s age of oversized cars, is no bad thing, making it easier to park and get in and out of. But it still seats five with very similar luggage capacity to the Model 3.
With the Tesla typically selling 1500+ units per month, why don’t Toyota see the opportunity to take a real slice of this as well as adding consumers who simply won’t buy a full EV at the moment?
Add in the strengths of the Toyota dealer network, with all that entails in terms of back up and service, and it would become difficult for many folk to justify a Model 3 over a Prius.
The Prius is designed to do exactly what a large number of drivers here would like – to have their cake and eat it.
Let’s summarise that:
– A full electric range that’s more than adequate for many people’s everyday motoring needs.
– An internal combustion engine that’s there and ready as soon as it’s needed for any journeys outside that everyday norm.
– The ability to recharge the battery at home without any special infrastructure, thereby enjoying off peak low cost electricity and greatly reducing the cost of motoring.
– A dealer network that’s inevitably way superior in terms of reach and availability than that offered by the major EV brands such as Tesla and BYD.
It’s a pretty compelling case. I’d also wager that resale values for the Prius would hold up better than those of full EVs in the fullness of time. Furthermore, the wider trade is likely to embrace the Prius in a way that it hasn’t done to date with the Tesla range, as I’ve discussed on these pages before.
For me, Toyota Australia actually have a responsibility to consumers here to offer the PHEV Prius here. It’s the best car of it’s type and price range in the world today and, Australians deserve to be able to buy this car.
Moreover, if Toyota want to be able to continue to offer (and profit from) LandCruisers and HiLux’s here (and we certainly want and need them) under whatever New Vehicle Efficiency Standard gets introduced, then surely it’s in their best interests to also offer one of the most practical and efficient cars built anywhere in the world at the moment, namely the Prius. In fact, not offering this car here is simply terrible PR at a time when much of the Toyota range is in the spotlight under these NVES proposals.
It’s a bloody no-brainer.
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