What's the news?
Toyota has unveiled the new Prius Plug in Hybrid at the New York Auto Show. This second Prius model shares its overall shape and mechanical underpinnings with the conventional Prius hybrid that has already hit Irish shores, a car that has greatly impressed us.
Exterior
The plug-in version of the Prius has been given some unique styling features to set it apart too, most noticeably new headlights that consist of four-lamp LED projector units (not too dissimilar from those seen on the new Bugatti Chiron), while the rear gets a new lighting signature that stretches across the width of the car. Under the paint there are some exotic lightweight materials in use to help offset weight gained by the plug-in hybrid system. This includes a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) tailgate, while larger items like the bonnet are formed in aluminium.
Interior
Inside, there is seating for four passengers while a large centre console divides the cabin. Up front there is a 'floating' eight-inch touchscreen that can control all the media functions and satellite navigation as well as showing the drivetrain status. The driver will have a smaller 4.2-inch TFT screen in the instrument cluster too.
Mechanicals
The important part is that new plug-in hybrid system. A battery charging port on the left rear quarter allows the car to be plugged in to either a home or public charge point in order to top up the 8.8kWh lithium-ion battery. This is larger than the NiMh battery found in the regular Prius hybrid and has a potential electric-only driving range of 50 kilometres. Toyota claims it will have class-leading acceleration and be capable of driving at up to 135km/h in pure electric mode. Toyota says that it will take around two hours and twenty minutes to fully charge the battery, though this could vary depending on what type of charger is being used.
It combines the new electric hardware with the familiar 1.8-litre petrol four-cylinder engine. Toyota says that the Prius Plug in Hybrid will emit just 32g/km of CO2, marginally lower than PHEV rivals like the Volkswagen Golf GTE.
Anything else?
The previous Prius Plug-in model wasn't officially imported to Ireland due to higher costs, but with interest already high in the current hybrid model and given the increased number of competitors, it is unsurprising that Toyota Ireland confirms it will arrive before the end of 2016.