Just when Honda brings in their Insight, Toyota Japan Brings in their new 2009 Prius in Japan...

IMO, its more or less like the current Prius but with a Matrix / Corolla Look... but thats not what makes it BETTER than Inspire.

The New Toyota Prius not only uses its renowned HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive), but the car will also be partially powered by Solar Power - Yes, the new Prius will have a Solar Panal on its roof.

For more Info, check out the following web (Japanese Only):

PRIUS VIRTUAL MOTORSHOW

The Insight is currently the best selling Hybrid in Japan since launched in Feb 09... but with the new Prius due to be launched later this year, the battle for the Hybrid market is going to get interesting~

 

arent they going to jack up the price for the pruis tho?

insight under $20k... current prius starting at $22k...

 

True, Insight is more affordable than the Prius... but I think the new technologies implimented into the new Prius will justify its cost and maybe there will be a significant MPG difference.

Then again, if the GE6/8's Glassroof was not DOT approve, I doubt Solar Panal will pass - Heck, the IIHS may say Solar Panal cars are NOT SAFE to drive cos it absorbs too much heat~

 

true... the mpg of the new pruis better blow the insight out of the water tho... because if it were a 5 mpg difference but the pricing was like 4k more... i'd go with the insight... :p

but i still dont think hybrids are worth it in the first place.. so.. *shrug*

 

Yea, my buddy just told me he used up his first tank of gas on his new GE.. he got 480KM out of it, and cost him CAD35 to fill up. He drives a MT but the number is still very impresive... I only get around 380-420 on my Turbo'ed GD

 

well the new prius is rated at 51/48 mpg and the new insight is rated at 43/41 i think. So people might just see that and think it's worth $2000. It seems that people are getting over 60 mpg in the insight though.

Hopefully people will research before buying, and not just follow the prius trend.

 

Hybrids are still not mainstream yet... it will take some time before people actually start going into hybrids... gas in North America is still too cheap compare to Asia and Europe...

The real competion for Hybrid is only between Toyota and Honda... Domestic Hybrids are pathetic imo...

 

lol had to convert km into miles :p ~300 miles for his GE?

this morning i filled up about $25/9.7 gal and i was a lil above 350 miles.. which is what i get normally...

its no hybrid mileage.. but... i saved a good 5k as opposed to buyin a prius

 

Oh yea, i need to add that its 300Miles *ahem* Pure City Driving... I dunno, I think its impressive~ @@

 

I just got 580km out of my 38L =) half highway half city though...

i think the solar roof on the prius is used to cool the car in the summer so you don't need to turn on the A/C that much...i don't think it will be used to power the car itself....

 

well dunno.. arent solar panels pretty heavy? if it doesnt help recharge/run the car, its just some extra dead weight... lower mpg? could be wrong...

 

i'm the last person in the world who should be talking about hybrid cars -- i generally snore at anything without an MT option -- but if toyota, honda, nissan, gm, ford, etc. are in the race for "green" high-mpg hybrids why the heck are they still using nickel metal hydride batteries?

maybe there's some kind of DOT, FDA, PITA (/sarcasm) protest against Lithium Ion batteries but it seems WORLDS ahead of the standard fare NiMH bricks..

check out this link:
http://jalopnik.com/5214804/new-tosh...-than-gas-pump
90 seconds to a full recharge! by the time you've finished your quickie, you'll be ready to roll out

 

As I'm sure you can attest to, Li Ion batteries generate heat both when in use and when charging, laptop users for sure, have experienced this.

Enough heat in fact, that one of the significant hurdles overcome by Tesla in the creation of their electrically powered range was the means in which they cooled the batteries, especially in situations which they were under significant load such as heavy acceleration.

NiMH batteries on the other hand, for all their faults, can be stuffed into a small nook in the car with no worries of overheating due to lack of airflow, etc.

 

I saw the Insight, FUGLY. I'd take the New Prius over it if I have extra money to spend.