[Auto] Toyota Prius, first contact from Los Angeles

[FNX Magokiler]

With this background, we took advantage of our visit to Los Angeles to get into the fifth generation of the model, which was presented globally just one year ago, and which today competes for the largest global award in the automotive industry: the World Car of the Year, and of which the director of Autocosmos, Marcelo Palomino, participates as part of the jury.

It is worth saying that the new Prius is offered in hybrid and plug-in hybrid format, called Prius Prime, and this fifth generation was conceived from scratch seeking not only to be a more striking car for different audiences, but also, appealing to timelessness, to be a car that will continue to be recognized in 25 more years.

Unfortunately, Chileans will not have the opportunity to see it on our streets. Despite the secrecy and distance that Toyota Chile has with the specialized media, we learned that it is very unlikely that the Prius will arrive in our country. A shame considering the intense campaign deployed by the brand to get hybrid technology recognized as equivalent to electric technology by the authority.

Toyota Prius: features

For the first time in its history, Toyota designers and engineers had complete freedom to rethink the Prius, without aesthetic constraints in pursuit of high aerodynamic efficiency (in fact, this model has worse Cx than the previous one). So 25 years of the horrendous raindrop design was put to an end to gain a clean redesign for those people who traditionally wouldn't consider a Prius as a purchase option.

 

 

Built on an evolution of the TNGA platform, the new Prius is longer, lower and wider than the model it replaces, offering a sportier and highly attractive look. It measures 4.53 meters long, 1.78 m wide and 1.42 m high, with a wheelbase of 2.75 meters.

The Prius retains its classic single-stroke silhouette, but is now an attractive, well-proportioned car, almost like a sports fastback, with some very interesting dynamic features. The hidden rear handle, the ascending cut in the front door that projects towards the rear, a lower center of gravity and some elements borrowed from the Toyota Crown, including the front ("Hammerhead Shark" they call it in Toyota) with spotlights in C-shaped or the LED bar that runs along the gate. The 19" wheels also help to provide a much less utilitarian image like that of other, more austere generations.

Inside we have a higher perceived quality and a less futuristic cabin than the previous ones, but somewhat more functional. The most striking thing is the rearward position of the instrument panel (7-inch digital), almost as if it were a Head-Up Display, which, however, is partially covered by the steering wheel depending on the position of each driver. In my case, I always lost some information.

 

https://noticias.autocosmos.cl/2023/11/20/toyota-prius-primer-contacto-desde-los-angeles