Friday, January 14, 2011

NAIAS 2011: Toyota Prius V, C & Plug-In Join The Prius Family

The new Prius v midsize hybrid-electric vehicle and the Prius c Concept vehicle join the Prius midsize liftback which has accounted for more than 955,000 sales in the U.S. since it was introduced in 2000 becoming the third-best selling Toyota passenger car in the U.S. The new Prius v, with "v" for versatility is aimed at families with over 50-percent more interior cargo space than the current Prius - 34.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats.
Also available is a resin Panoramic View moonroof with power retractable sun shades and Prius v will have the Entune™ multimedia system engaging mobile apps, such as Bing, OpenTable,  and movietickets.com, along with accessing travel-related services, such as live weather, traffic, fuel information (location and price), stocks, news and sports. With an advanced conversational voice recognition system that helps the driver to stay focused on the road, Entune eliminates the need to memorize thousands of voice commands and helps reduce driver distraction.

Prius c Concept, the Small "city"-centric Hybrid Vehicle will come to market in the first half of 2012.

The third addition is the Plug-in to be initially offered in 14 West and East Coast states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Virginia and New Hampshire) where nearly 60 percent of all Prius models are currently sold.  Availability in all remaining states will be a year later. Depending on driving conditions, Prius Plug-in can be driven approximately 13 miles on battery power at speeds up to 60 mph.  Its compact Lithium-ion battery provides less weight and a quicker recharging time, taking three hours on 110 volts and 1.7 hours on 220 volts.  It can be "topped off" anytime with a convenient short charge.

With the success of the Prius hybrid, Toyota is simple expanding the appeal of the brand by catering to more tastes and needs. You might say they are entune with the market.