Toyota, a Prius does not make a good sports car.
Posted: June 6, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: Alternative Energy Vehicles, Controversy, Hybrid, Mind over motor, Prius, Sports Car, Toyota 3 Comments »
2012 Toyota Prius V
Oh dear Lord. Toyota, please stop the madness. As of today, there is apparently a sports coupe version of the Prius on the way. The crossover was downright ugly—and if the artist’s renderings of this one are anything to go by, this is going to look hideous. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, and hide yo husbands because Toyota is trying to flood America with the Prius.
The patriarch (matriarch?) of this unusual family.
The CR-Z has already been looked at as far too much compromise, and despite Toyota’s better reputation with hybrid vehicles, I don’t expect this to sell at all. A hybrid sports car is sort of like peanutless peanut butter—all of the mess and none of what you really like. Although they claim it will be offered with a manual transmission, that doesn’t sway me enough. Toyota’s still too hot and cold right now. And I’m afraid that this is going to hit the cold side of the line with a fairly thundering thud. The Prius is fine as it is (I won’t go into why I don’t like it); but Toyota needs to step away from this car. Just because you have a milk producing cow in your farm does not mean that it has to be milked every hour of every day. Eventually, something will go wrong.
The alleged Prius sports car. If that's not an oxymoron, I don't know what is. Photo courtesy of http://www.motortrend.com
Kind of like this…thing. Toyota, if you want to sell a sports car, how about finally finishing up the FT-86? It looked absolutely stunning at the New York Auto Show this spring, and if that’s any indication, I will gladly put my savings bonds down as a down payment if it drives like it looks.
Scion FR-S
-Al
Of course manual doesn’t sway you Bert. Your argument is essentially, hybrid cannot equal sports car. You’re wrong. Don’t knock it before it comes out. If it drives well I’d certainly buy a manual version.
Myself, I can’t WAIT for a sports car Prius. My dream car is not yet made, but a sports Prius could come close: a very fun to drive, very economical and rational vehicle, powerful, go-cart-like handling. I currently drive a Honda Si: great handling, but not enough power and a godawful turning circle – plus, it’s not particularly economical. The Honda sports hybrid by all accounts sucks: no power. So IF the Prius sports (or: sporty) car has the necessary attributes (power, handling, Prius-like economy), I’d buy it in a second.
The Prius nameplate won’t be the one to make such a car. Look toward Porsche right now; the upcoming 918 supercar will be a hybrid with 718hp, 200mph top speed, 0-60 in 3 sec flat, and cat around 7 figures. Obviously it is a rich mans play toy, but its technology will trickle down to more normal cars in a few generations. Be on the lookout for those cars, or a more sporting car that uses the Chevy Volt’s setup. The Prius is crap, and Toyota seems to have mad a commitment to mediocrity. Porsche will most likely pioneer this technology properly into sports cars, and then you will see the likes of Nissan, Subaru, Ford, Chevy, Mazda, Honda, etc follow in their footsteps. Be patient, and until there is a viable hybrid sports car (not the Honda CRZ), look for light weight cars like the Mazda MX5, or a used Lotus Elise. The Lotus will do 0-60 in 4.5sec while returning 30mpg because it only weighs 2000lbs; it is the best mix of performance and economy out right now unless u have $132K to drop on a Tesla with only slightly better performance.