Cryptic teaser ignites speculation.
It seems that Toyota’s got some things in the pipeline for the Prius, specifically for the US market. It’s been there for a while and so the standard Prius saloon/hatch/fastback/whatever is about due for a mid-life update. However, they seem to be looking at doing more than giving it an aesthetic spruce-up, as the powertrain might be tweaked slightly too.
We say this because Toyota’s shared a teaser of what we’re certain is a Prius (just look at those funny character lines), with a roof rack, in snow. Hardly the comfort zone of a mid-sized front-driven hybrid. Captioning the image was this rather curious line:
“Fall is here, winter’s near, but the 2019 Prius performs on roads whether snowy or clear.”
The Prius has traditionally only been available as a front-wheel drive proposition… outside of Japan. In its home market, the Prius has long been available an ‘E-Four’ all-wheel drive option, that adds a third motor on the rear axle (in addition to the two electric motors at the front) to provide some traction out back. The rear motor only provides a small amount of horsepower, but it’s enough to provide a little more safety & control in sticky situations.
The Prius E-Four was not offered in the US because the Prius’ most popular markets don’t really demand all-wheel drive.
However, it seems that Toyota’s about to change that, if this snowy teaser photo shows anything. Perhaps with the Prius E-Four, Toyota will be able to capture a larger audience, or perhaps offer the existing audience a bit more in the way of regenerative braking & greater rear-end control. However, we’re doubtful it’ll make that major of an impact, though it’d certainly be a nice addition for the 3 Prius customers who regularly traverse unsealed surfaces.
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