Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Toyota
Confirmed: This is the 2010 Toyota Prius
Click above for gallery of the 2010 Toyota Prius
Jalopnik is reporting this morning that images published last night on the web of what appeared to be the next-generation 2010 Toyota Prius are, in fact, the real deal. Toyota PR reportedly confirmed to the website that what we're looking at is the same car that will be revealed in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. We've also included some spy shots in the gallery below that would seem to corroborate this.As Damon pointed out last night, the new design is an evolution of the current model that incorporates some recent favorite styling cues of Toyota designers like the bulbous badge housing up front. The interior, however, is a marked step away from the current model's spaceship controls, and thankfully eschews that car's dash-mounted shifter for a new one properly placed on the buttressed center console. Mechanically speaking, the new Prius is expected to arrive with a more powerful gas engine, bigger electric motor and, despite continuing to use nickel-metal hydride rather than lithium-ion batteries, improved fuel efficiency. It is the Prius after all.
UPDATE: Toyota has confirmed publicly on its Open Road Blog that these shots are indeed the 2010 Prius.
Gallery: Confirmed: 2010 Toyota Prius
[Source: Jalopnik, Thanks for the spy pics, Jason and Merritt!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
srDRIVEN 12:38PM (10/16/2008)
Gross; is this a step backwards in design? Or is it just me? I'm no GM fanboy, but I think the Chevy Volt is wildly better looking aesthetically. The original Prius was no beauty queen, and this one is even a little more splashy. Weird.
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Red 12:47PM (10/16/2008)
And yet the Volt will come in an estimated $20K more. I'm sure the Prius won't have any issues finding buyers against the Volt. I'm curious though, how it will fair against the Insight Hybrid and anything else someone might be working on...
I agree though, this thing is fugly. Makes me wonder how the Toyota/Subaru coupe is going to look on the Toyota end. Granted, it's not likely to come to America as a Toyota. Especially looking anything like that. Thank God.
Bluestreak 12:55PM (10/16/2008)
The Volt may be prettier, but the Prius will undercut it by tens of thousands of dollars.
I personally think this looks better than the present Prius, with the exception of the ugly Maxima headlamps. Anything on the road is better than the present Prius. It's still not as nice looking as the upcoming Insight, though.
Gabagool 1:13PM (10/16/2008)
Looks yeah, Volt looks better, but this thing will sell for 24K Volt will sell for 40K.
Looks matter, but people will have to buy can they can actually afford now.
srDRIVEN 1:43PM (10/16/2008)
I agree with everyone pointing out the price differential, but I didn't even consider that when posting because I feel that, in today's market, ugly does not beget cheap and vice-versa. Example, the Tiburon, nice looking car, cheap. Chevy Malibu, decent looking, cheap. There are also $40+ cars that aren't easy on the eyes. I think design can operate successfully even on an inexpensive vehicle, and I was trying to compare two vehicles that are most importantly sculpted with aerodynamics in mind; regardless of price, one is successful, one simply is not.
Jon 2:13PM (10/16/2008)
Whoever is in charge of design at Toyota needs to be shot.
9394 2:37PM (10/16/2008)
Hybrids are not about the looks. They are all about MPGs.
McLovin 2:42PM (10/16/2008)
Yuck.
No it is not just you. This thing is foul. It looks like they squished a Corolla front end and then bolted that to the current Prius design and called it a day.
tito 3:05PM (10/16/2008)
Yes, the hybrids are not about value, are about saving gas, because americans were basically destroying the atmosphere with all those useless SUVs, wich are worse than those hybrids in terms of value.
Supermiler 3:13PM (10/16/2008)
I'm pretty sure the atmosphere will still be there if people keep driving SUV's (ie. won't be destroyed)...be more eloquent with your words or your meaning will be lost.
BoneHeadOtto 3:14PM (10/16/2008)
Why could they not make it look like this prius.
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/50336-2010-prius-information-pictures-car-driver.html
Quick Toyota hire this designer from car and driver now. Delay the prius and make it look like this car
Gary 3:18PM (10/16/2008)
Price doesn't always matter to people. People pay way more for a Mini over a Yaris, even though they're both all about "saving gas and saving the world".
BoneHeadOtto 3:19PM (10/16/2008)
Hey Mr SuperEloquent
Destroying does not mean vanishing. His point was well made.
why not the LS2LS7? 7:33PM (10/16/2008)
BoneHeadOtto:
That thing is ugly. For starters, the front wheels are 50% larger than the rear.
The only parts of that illustration that look any good at all are the parts stolen off the current one (the greenhouse shape).
Ron 12:38PM (10/16/2008)
Toyota made the ugly Prius even uglier! Congrats Toyota!
Whats up with those Nissan Maxima like headlights?
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P B 12:39PM (10/16/2008)
Who looked at that front end and thought that was a good idea?
Noe of the lines make any kind of sense. It's all just a mess.
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Kyle J. Krenz 12:40PM (10/16/2008)
Polish a turd, it's still a turd.
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Seminole 1:30PM (10/16/2008)
Maybe there will be a special "Ferguson" edition
BigMcLargeHuge 12:41PM (10/16/2008)
What do you know? They can make it look stupider than the old version.
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LK 12:42PM (10/16/2008)
The current Prius' interior is miles ahead of this one.
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