Toyota Prius (XW50)
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The fourth-generation Toyota Prius was first shown during September 2015 in Las Vegas, and was released for retail customers in Japan on 9 December 2015. The launch in North American market occurred in January 2016, and February in Europe. Toyota expected to sell 12,000 fourth generation Prius cars a month in Japan, and to reach annual sales between 300,000 and 350,000 units.


Overview

The fourth-generation Prius was designed to deliver significantly improved fuel economy in a more compact package that is lighter in weight and lower in cost. These objectives were achieved through the development of a new generation of powertrains with significant advances in battery, electric motor and gasoline engine technologies. In August 2013, Toyota Managing Officer Satoshi Ogiso, who was chief engineer for the Prius line, announced some of the improvements and key features of the next generation Prius. The next Prius is the first vehicle to use the
Toyota New Global Architecture The Toyota New Global Architecture (abbreviated as TNGA) are modular automobile platforms that underpin various Toyota and Lexus models starting with the fourth-generation Prius in late 2015. TNGA platforms accommodate different vehicle sizes a ...
(TNGA) modular platform, which provides a lower
center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...
and increased structural rigidity. These features, along with other improvements allow for gains in ride-and-handling, agility and aerodynamics. The improved aerodynamics contribute to an all-new exterior design, which includes a roomier interior. Ogiso also explained that the next-generation Prius plug-in hybrid, the Prius Prime, was developed in parallel with the standard Prius model. The fourth-generation Prius is longer, wider and lower; at the rear a
double wishbone A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...
independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in w ...
replaces its predecessors'
torsion beam The twist-beam rear suspension (also torsion-beam axle, deformable torsion beam or compound crank) is a type of automobile suspension based on a large H or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rubber bushings, and the ...
. The front uses standard LED headlamps. Toyota has claimed that it has a , better than the 0.25 claimed for the third-generation model, and the same as the American
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...
. A
tow hitch A tow hitch (or tow bar or trailer hitch in North America) is a device attached to the chassis of a vehicle for towing, or a towbar to an aircraft nose gear. It can take the form of a tow ball to allow swiveling and articulation of a trailer, ...
option is available in the UK for up to . The vehicle features smaller electric motors, with higher power density than the previous Prius motors and the gasoline engine features a maximum
thermal efficiency In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency (\eta_) is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, steam turbine, steam engine, boiler, furnace, refrigerator, ACs etc. For a he ...
greater than 40% (that of the third-generation Prius is 38.5%). The fourth-generation Prius also uses a 0.75 kWh
lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
pack that offers higher energy density than the 1.3 kWh nickel-metal hydride battery used in the prior generation. In late November 2018, for the 2019 model year, the U.S. market Prius lineup introduced an
all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...
model featuring Toyota's E-Four system, that adds a motor to the rear axle. This has been available for the Japanese market Prius since 2015 and the hybrid versions of the RAV4 and
Lexus NX The is a compact luxury crossover SUV sold by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota. Introduced in late 2014, it is positioned between the subcompact UX and the mid-size RX. The NX was proven to be well-received, as it was a sales success. It w ...
. The AWD-e models use a 1.2 kWh nickel–metal hydride battery that performs better in areas with colder temperatures where drivers favor all-wheel drive. Also in 2019, the trim levels were renamed from One, Two, Three and Four, to L, LE, XLE, and Limited, respectively, which put the structure in line with other Toyota models.


Efficiency

The Prius fuel economy has improved on average by about 10% each generation, and Toyota has set the challenge to continue to improve at this rate. Under the Japanese JC08 cycle test, Toyota expects the fourth generation Prius to achieve a fuel economy rating of . The fourth-generation Prius has an official EPA fuel economy rating of for city, for highway, and for combined driving. The new generation offered a , or 8.3%, improvement over the combined driving rating of the third-generation Prius. Toyota also offers an "Eco" base-model variant of the fourth-generation Prius with improved efficiency, largely due to the reduced weight, achieved by eliminating the spare tire, a rear-window wiper and trunk-lid lining. The Eco variant has an official EPA rating of city, highway, and combined. The Eco offered a , or 16.7%, improvement over the combined driving rating of the third-generation Prius. The Eco variant passed the first-generation Honda Insight's as the most fuel efficient car available in the US without plug-in capability. However the Honda Insight still achieves a higher highway rating of .


Facelift

The Prius received a facelift with redesigned headlights and tail lights, which was released in Japan on 17 December 2018. In 2020, for the 2021 model year, Toyota USA released the 2020 Edition Prius. Based on the XLE model, differences were mostly black wheels, badges and trim and carpets with a "Prius 2020 Edition" insert. File:2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e in Super White, Front Left.jpg, 2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e (facelift, Canada) File:2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e in Super White, Rear Right.jpg, 2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e (facelift, Canada)


Safety

The 2022 Prius was tested by the US
IIHS The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a U.S. nonprofit organization funded by auto insurance companies, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle traffic collision ...
:


Discontinuation

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
discontinued the Prius as well as the UK in early January 2022 It was discontinued in New Zealand in August 2021, and at the time was reduced to the Prius Prime
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
model, with the regular hybrid discontinued in 2020. It was discontinued due to slow sales as only 38 were sold nationally between January and July 2021. The Prius was discontinued in Australia in May 2022 after 21 years because other Toyota hybrid models were selling well and its
unique selling point In marketing, the unique selling proposition (USP), also called the unique selling point, or the unique value proposition (UVP) in the business model canvas, is the marketing strategy of informing customers about how one's own brand or product is ...
had been lost.


References

{{Modern North American Toyota vehicles 5 2020s cars Cars introduced in 2015 Front-wheel-drive vehicles Hybrid electric cars Hatchbacks