Originally Posted by
C&D
Photos of the third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius have been leaked to the PriusChat.com forum. We called Toyota to find out more, but beyond confirming that what we’re looking at is indeed the next Prius, we couldn’t obtain any more info. We’re told that the official announcement will come at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January, but we’re not sitting on our hands.
For now, we’ll attempt to glean any details from these images. The obvious exterior change is a lack of exterior change. Prius number three shares its overall profile with the current model, which was a considerable departure from the original 2001 car. Toyota has taken the car’s look corporate, though, with a front end reminiscent of the Corolla. Overall, the new sheetmetal is evolutionary, not the revolution we would have hoped for, especially in the face of Honda’s new Insight Prius-clone. This new Prius even has some Honda Civic cues, which are most evident in the shape of its doors.
While Toyota has confirmed that this is the next Prius, we weren’t told why the headlights don’t match in two of the photos. The large front three-quarter view shows a headlight that sweeps back into the hood and fender—much like those on the new Nissan Maxima—to include what appears to be a turn-signal lamp. In the close-up view of the passenger-side headlight, we see a more conventionally shaped unit, with the turn indicator instead housed in the lower fascia just above the fog lamp. A possible explanation: We may be looking at an internal design study that is being used to decide the final details of Toyota’s newest hybrid. This is not unheard of, as Chevrolet recently did something similar with the Camaro by creating a styling buck that was half of one design and half of another.
The car’s interior styling is again more evolution than revolution. Whether or not you like the current Prius’s interior layout, no one can deny that it’s different. A lot of that seems to have gone out the window; the car loses its dash-mounted shift lever, for example, with it now being placed lower down on the center console. Other notable changes include a larger center stack display, as well as a multi-color wraparound instrument panel at the top of the dash. What was once wasted space between the armrest and dashboard is now bridged, creating a storage area beneath the climate controls and shift lever. PriusChat forum members have also noticed a new port next to the 12-volt outlet, which could possibly be a 110-volt outlet or an iPod/auxiliary input. The B transmission range—used in place of a conventional automatic’s low gear when descending steep grades—may also be missing from the third-gen car.
As Toyota has said, all will be revealed at the 2009 Detroit show. There, we’ll see a face-off of Toyota and Honda’s hybrid efforts and will learn exactly which face Toyota has chosen for the next Prius.
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