mmarshall

Not necessarily. It's true that I'm not a fan of a marked low-profile, hard-riding setup, but I will keep an open mind on the new Prius until I actually look at it and drive it. And, as always, I will be as objective as I can.

A sport-oriented chassis with low-profile tires does not always mean an overly-harsh ride. BMW, in particular, knows how to do it and keep a reasonable amount of comfort as well.

And, FYI, the second-generation Prius, IMO, had a soft chassis, that, combined with the tall center-of-gravity, produced a fairly smooth ride but lots of body lean and poor grip on corners. I liked the ride, but was generally unimpresed with the handling, but I reviewed the car in light of the inherent limitations (at that time) in high-MPG tires, so I didn't expect a sports car.

(That was one of my old reviews, BTW, which were not as comprehensive as the ones I do now, and lacked attached images. I took some flak from a few CL members who strongly disagreed with my opinion on how Toyota did the dash setup and controls).

RON430

I don't think they are talking about engine timing. That will still be done with some form of belt, chain, or gear. I think what they are referring to is that the accessories will be powered by dedicated or shared electric motors. They have to go that way, you only want to run the gas engine to charge the battery or add oomph, not run the AC, steering, brakes, or make hot water for the heater.

RON430

Nothing really different from the posting of the prices, just more comparative numbers to the Honda.

Hybrid war: Prius price takes aim at Honda's Insight

By James R. Healey, USA TODAY

Toyota in effect declared hybrid war Tuesday when it announced that its 2010 Prius gasoline-electric hybrid will have a starting price just $1,280 more than the Honda Insight.

Insight went on sale Mar. 24. Prius goes on sale late May.

Prius is bigger, faster, more fuel-efficient and has a broader array of options.

Prius fuel economy: 51 miles per gallon in town, 48 on the highway, 50 in combined driving.


Honda spokesman Sage Marie was quick to note that Toyota gave no details about the cheapest Prius, but did give extensive details about more-expensive versions — suggesting to him that the Prius price leader could be a showroom phantom and the $22,750 model could wind up the real-world base model.

Toyota's pricing announcement said the list of standard equipment on the least-expensive Prius would be "released at a later date."

Toyota spokeswoman Ming-Jou Chen said while the better-equipped, mid-level version will make up about two-thirds of Prius sales, the so-called "Prius I" base model "will be out there."

She said it will lack these features standard on other Prius models: Cruise control, rear wiper and EV-only mode that keeps the car operating on battery-only as long as possible.

It also will lack the "touch-tracer display" that shows on a screen what the driver has adjusted using steering-wheel controls, meant to minimize the need to glance down.

Honda's Marie said, "Insight's still an excellent value. It appeals to customers who didn't consider a hybrid before."

In keeping with Toyota's intent to make Prius not only a fuel-economy leader, but also a technology showplace, Toyota listed $6,300 in options a buyer could choose on top of the $28,020 starting price for "Prius V," the deluxe version, bringing the total sticker price for that to $34,320.

Honda says the most you can spend on an Insight is $24,770, though it wouldn't have the Prius' collision avoidance systems and some other high-tech features.

Prius is 175.6 inches long, 68.7 inches wide, 58.7 inches tall and has 93.7 cubic feet of passenger space. It's gas-electric powertrain is rated a total 134 horsepower.

Insight is 172.3 inches long, 66.7 inches wide, 56.2 inches tall and lists passenger space of 85 cubic feet. Its gas-electric powertrain is rated 98 hp.

Toyota's aggressive pricing move Tuesday underscores how vicious the auto market has become as car companies try to hold market share in a weak, recession-wounded new-vehicle market.

New vehicle sales in the USA the first quarter were 38.4% worse than a year earlier, according to industry-tracker Autodata. For all 2008, sales were off 18% from 2007.

Toyota sales the first quarter, including the Lexus luxury brand were down 37%. Honda's, including Acura, were off 34.5%.

"I think there's enough room in the hybrid market for both," Marie said. He said that would be true even if Toyota later hits the market with a hybrid version of the small Yaris, which Toyota says it is considering as a way to undercut Insight pricing.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...e_N.htm?csp=34

wmb0000

competition is always good for us consumers

RON430

I know it's very likely not going to happen but wouldn't you like to see a mini price war between Toyota and Honda? As consumers, how sweet is that?

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

As well as other manufacturers too. I can't wait for the Chevy Volt to come out. Not quite the same hybrid, but in a way acts more like a hybrid than full EV because you can still drive up to about 400 miles after the EV battery is considered discharged.

SLegacy99

People with a lot money buy Priui for the green factor. People with alot of money will pay lots of money for options. Toyota wins. Honda loses. VW Jetta TDI really loses.

LexFather

I mean it seems the major thing the Insight has over the Prius is price and "fun to drive" which is like saying Chucky E Cheese is tastier than Mickey Mouse.

Thing is the Insight is clearly made much cheaper and its not even a true hybrid. The engine never cuts off. The Prius gets better gas mileage. The insight looks like the old Prius, it should have debuted 6 years ago.

However, Honda knows people will buy it b/c it has the "H" On the grill even as the Prius is much much better vehicle.

Oh and I love my hybrid.

wmb0000

There's some true that people will buy the insight because of the "H" on the hood but not always. Insight is a more affordable hybrid, it might not get the mpg of the Prius but it has a very good mpg nevertheless. Remember insight top out like around $25K and prius is like $34K loaded. Prius edge the Insight on certain things but Insight also edge Prius on other things as well. Regardless, like I said competition is good for us comsumer. Just think about it, if not because of the Insight pricing would toyota drop the price of the Prius? My answer would be a big fat "NO".

SLegacy99

Why not save even more money a car that gets almost as of fuel economy as the Insight. Get a Corolla, Cobalt, Focus.

wmb0000

Perhaps people want to go green so this is a cheaper alternative to the more expensive Prius. There's other reason why people would buy certain things, but I am not them so I do not know. That's just my guess.

It's like saying why buy luxury car when top of the line toyota/honda/nissan have almost everything lexus/bmw/infinity/acura have to offer.

rogers2

Honestly a lot people buy Honda vehicles b/c they find Toyota vehicles simply boring. The last two girls I dated purchase a Honda Accord b/c they found the vehicle more sporty than the camry.

FKL

Yeah right. The "TDI" is the only choice for anyone serious about driving. Sorry, the electric wonders won't even come close to the Jetta in this regard. Notice there is no "stripper" version of VW products - everything is very well equipped. How about doing that comparison before writing off products, eh?

SLegacy99

Trust me, the comparison has been done many, many times here. How bout doing a search before shooting your mouth off?

LexFather

I would avoid those girls. Girls= Honda owners. Its like something they are born to do. Its sportier in a way that a lays potato chip is chrunchier than a Pringles one.
Its about fuel economy. What is serious about a a TDI Jetta for sport? It is no R32 or GTi.