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Pruis Discontinued


Devon Aygo
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1 hour ago, davidif said:

Joe, I agree entirely and certainly if I needed a bit more space it would be on my list.

 

I don’t need the space either, just the 2 of us vast majority of journeys. Just I can’t see anything I want more than this Prius, be it larger or smaller. Nothing takes my fancy at all. 

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I have had several Mks of Prius and was pleased with them all. Our current Gen 4 business edition is just great for us. It has updated SAT Nav and 15 inch wheels. Has everything you would want from a car. I would have had a plug in model but that comes with no spare wheel not even a skinny. Worst car I ever owned was a British Leyland Montego. I agree with Joe's statements. I am not worried that taxi drivers use them. That proves how reliable and economic they are.

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On 3/16/2022 at 8:37 AM, TonyHSD said:

I think ioniq 5 is a beautifully  designed modern car different than others. 

I agree. Some say it has the usual issue of uncomfortable Hyndai headrests though. I hope not, that would be a deal breaker to me. Far more than the looks would, and the looks are great anyway.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A bit late to the discussion on Prius as Taxis, but for what it's worth I distinctly remember a conversation with the guy who did the handover on my then new 2017 Excel. He told me Toyota was NOT happy that the Prius had become so identified with taxis, particulary Uber. The Gen 4 was supposed to break with that with its radical redesign. The slogan on the brochure was "An icon once again". That seems to support what he was saying (and it didn't seem to be just a view). Add in the low headroom in the back, small boot space and lower profile (all very un-taxi like) and it does make sense.

I've still got the car and still love it but expect my next one won't be a Toyota as they are falling way behind.

Steve

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Well if that Toyota what wanted from Prius they had made a  huge mistake. The car to become popular with masses must have fast acceleration 0-60, be more regular design and be loaded with big screens with a lot of non useful extras like farts and other strange noises. Tesla model 3 perhaps is the best example and yes it replaces Prius with great success around the world as taxi and also kills the bmw 3 series and Mercedes’ c class. Toyota / Lexus has nothing to compete in that category. Corolla otoh replace Prius for the most who like and want a hybrid.  Kia and Hyundai has a good Evs but hybrids are not as advanced as Toyota. 

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1 hour ago, Will004 said:

A bit late to the discussion on Prius as Taxis, but for what it's worth I distinctly remember a conversation with the guy who did the handover on my then new 2017 Excel. He told me Toyota was NOT happy that the Prius had become so identified with taxis, particulary Uber. The Gen 4 was supposed to break with that with its radical redesign. The slogan on the brochure was "An icon once again". That seems to support what he was saying (and it didn't seem to be just a view). Add in the low headroom in the back, small boot space and lower profile (all very un-taxi like) and it does make sense.

I've still got the car and still love it but expect my next one won't be a Toyota as they are falling way behind.

Steve

Discontinuing Prius because of taxi image is hard to believe. No business kills cash cow. They would have introduced another model if they wanted. An example is C-HR, despite being a less practical car in the market, Toyota is sticking with it and introducing a practical Corolla Cross. Prius is the icon of their hybrid tech and i think the moniker will live perhaps under som new tech or vehicle. 

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2 hours ago, Spo2 said:

Discontinuing Prius because of taxi image is hard to believe. No business kills cash cow. They would have introduced another model if they wanted. An example is C-HR, despite being a less practical car in the market, Toyota is sticking with it and introducing a practical Corolla Cross. Prius is the icon of their hybrid tech and i think the moniker will live perhaps under som new tech or vehicle. 

Good sentiments but what on Earth were Toyota thinking about when they labelled the Gen4 Prius below the Excel model as the ‘business class’ model? There’s no excuse in my opinion & after Toyota saw the success with the taxi drivers using the Prius as the car of choice, in my opinion they were targeting that trade.

What they didn’t realise or understand was that British taxi drivers don’t buy brand new cars as a rule. They tend to buy low mileage, reliable, low mpg cars of adequate size & power, which the Prius certainly fitted the bill. I don’t care what Toyota comes up with, I dealt with taxi drivers from work I was involved with & I definitely know that to be a fact!

No matter what anyone says, Toyota made the big mistake thinking they would sell brand new Toyota business class cars to the taxi trade but that backfired because as as I said taxi drivers tend to buy used cars.

Nevertheless the Prius remains one of the finest cars on the road. I’m completely satisfied with the performance of my car. Sales dropped because of the taxi stigma as far as I’m concerned, after all why else would sales of such a brilliant car slump? 

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4 minutes ago, BhxTrev said:

Good sentiments but what on Earth were Toyota thinking about when they labelled the Gen4 Prius below the Excel model as the ‘business class’ model? There’s no excuse in my opinion & after Toyota saw the success with the taxi drivers using the Prius as the car of choice, in my opinion they were targeting that trade.

What they didn’t realise or understand was that British taxi drivers don’t buy brand new cars as a rule. They tend to buy low mileage, reliable, low mpg cars of adequate size & power, which the Prius certainly fitted the bill. I don’t care what Toyota comes up with, I dealt with taxi drivers from work I was involved with & I definitely know that to be a fact!

No matter what anyone says, Toyota made the big mistake thinking they would sell brand new Toyota business class cars to the taxi trade but that backfired because as as I said taxi drivers tend to buy used cars.

Nevertheless the Prius remains one of the finest cars on the road. I’m completely satisfied with the performance of my car. Sales dropped because of the taxi stigma as far as I’m concerned, after all why else would sales of such a brilliant car slump? 

Image has to do with the sales dips. Loads of Mercs are used as taxi but it didn't not affect their sales. Business class nomenclature anomaly was also in 3 series if i am not mistaken. In most cases, it is downgraded version of higher sports and or luxury trims but has all essentials that business folks would like. 

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24 minutes ago, Spo2 said:

Image has to do with the sales dips. Loads of Mercs are used as taxi but it didn't not affect their sales. Business class nomenclature anomaly was also in 3 series if i am not mistaken. In most cases, it is downgraded version of higher sports and or luxury trims but has all essentials that business folks would like. 

You are right about taxi drivers using used Mercedes, but yet again, Mercedes never labelled their cars as ‘business’ vehicles. Toyota clearly did that & it doesn’t matter what you or anyone says, there’s no doubt in my mind & anyone who knew what was going on, that Toyota were targeting the taxi trade. What they did was completely ruin the image of & finish the sales of the Prius Gen 4 with the general public. Well done Toyota!

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European sales of the Prius have been in decline for a while -

2010* - 42,959 sales; 2011 - 24,750; 2012 - 23,036; 2013** - 16,098; 2014 - 8.162; 2015 - 7,638; 2016 - 16,348; 2017 - 13,630; 2018 - 12,253; 2019*** - 7,454; 2020 - 4,605; 2021 - 2991.

I think it is more the effect of newer models (eg Corolla (especially the Touring Sport and saloon which were intended to partly take sales in the Avensis class)) that has spelt the death knell for the current Prius in some parts of Europe including the UK.

For example the first generation Auris hybrid was introduced in 2010*, the second generation Auris hybrid in December 2012** (Touring Sport summer 2013**), and the Corolla in March 2019***. 

A lot of taxi drivers went for the Auris, Auris Touring Sport, and Avensis, which, in the UK, also had the same Business grades from 2015 as the Prius (which had them from 2016). 

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10 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

European sales of the Prius have been in decline for a while -

2010* - 42,959 sales; 2011 - 24,750; 2012 - 23,036; 2013** - 16,098; 2014 - 8.162; 2015 - 7,638; 2016 - 16,348; 2017 - 13,630; 2018 - 12,253; 2019*** - 7,454; 2020 - 4,605; 2021 - 2991.

I think it is more the effect of newer models (eg Corolla (especially the Touring Sport and saloon which were intended to partly take sales in the Avensis class)) that has spelt the death knell for the current Prius in some parts of Europe including the UK.

For example the first generation Auris hybrid was introduced in 2010*, the second generation Auris hybrid in December 2012** (Touring Sport summer 2013**), and the Corolla in March 2019***. 

A lot of taxi drivers went for the Auris, Auris Touring Sport, and Avensis, which, in the UK, also had the same Business grades from 2015 as the Prius (which had them from 2016). 

Hi Frosty, thanks for that info. As I mentioned in a previous post, very few taxi drivers purchase new cars, their preference being for cheaper used low mileage but reliable models. Since there are so few Prius cars available now I would have guessed that the Auris would be the next Toyota model they’d opt for. I just hope the Auris doesn’t suddenly get tarred with the same brush. 

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In London where perhaps was the biggest market for Prius many or majority of taxi drivers leased brand new Priuses or joined a fleet companies with Prius only. The peak in sales was around 2010-2016 as basically until 2017 there was almost no competition or anything similar to Prius hybrid system, only Honda Insight but wasn’t as good as Toyota. Then kia and Hyundai started to offer hybrids which are almost as good as Toyota, not exactly but close., and for most people average taxi driver doesn’t matter really what it’s going on under bonnet, plus those makes offer good warranty too. Prius is a product and like any other products has its life cycle. Prius as we know it is dead but this doesn’t mean it’s a bad car, actually exactly opposite, it remains the best hybrid and base of all hybrids. 🔋👌👍

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Good summary. London was/is very different to the taxi/private hire market in most places, where buying second hand may well be the norm. In addition to Tony's points, drivers could hire an "Uber ready Prius" on a weekly basis, all in price including insurance. I think you still can but the numbers are well down since covid. There was also a wave of Gen 3 grey imports a few years ago. Uber in particular pushed the Prius as part of their image and are now doing the same for electric. They probably contributed more to the Prius-is-a-taxi problem than anyone.

When Toyota were developing the Prius, I can't believe they either wanted or expected it to become so associated with taxis/PHV. Sure, they weren't going to turn away sales, but going back to my last post, why launch the Gen 4 as they did when it is so obviously not designed for the job of a taxi. The Gen 3 was better suited. I still believe the guy at the dealers, who I have since remembered, also said they were pushing the Auris Touring as best, and cheaper, for taxi work and indeed there are quite a few about.

For the drivers, the Prius offered a relaxing automatic with great MPG. In cities particularly, this was far more attractive than a manual diesel, the previous default. Add in the then-futuristic image and there you have it - Uber and its drivers are the main reason for the taxi image and there was probably nothing Toyota could do about it.

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Just started to watch some travel series and tbh almost in all cities around the world Prius seems to be the car for taxi and ph. Latest I watch was from Italy and the taxis were white Prius plus, which btw is absolutely the best hybrid for the business. 

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6 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Just started to watch some travel series and tbh almost in all cities around the world Prius seems to be the car for taxi and ph. Latest I watch was from Italy and the taxis were white Prius plus, which btw is absolutely the best hybrid for the business. 

So Tony you more or less agree with my posts regarding the stigma the general public feel about the Prius, after all you don’t see them queuing up for a black cab taxi to buy & the Prius had become just that.

Nevertheless, the Prius is still one of the best cars on the road, but with its demise it’s fairly sure now that taxi drivers will be turning their sights on the Auris. 

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4 minutes ago, BhxTrev said:

Nevertheless, the Prius is still one of the best cars on the road, but with its demise it’s fairly sure now that taxi drivers will be turning their sights on the Auris. 

That's already happened in some locations. Certainly in and around Birmingham there are quite a few Auris knocking about as taxis.

Think the next will be the Corolla, and probably the Touring Sport, which has the same size wheelbase as the Prius/Avensis.

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7 hours ago, BhxTrev said:

after all you don’t see them queuing up for a black cab taxi to buy & the Prius had become just that.

Black cabs have a second life all over the world. I've seen several turned into mobile workshops! For instance for a knife sharpening business, was the last one I saw.

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That’s nothing wrong with particular car model to become an icon different from what manufacturer original thought or wish were, it is also a good sign for any private owner, similar to what was the case before with Vw sharan, ford Galaxy and seat alhambra, these 3 were ultra popular as taxi. Taxi drivers has 3 important points that the car should match before becoming one of their choice: drivability, reliability and efficiency. 👍

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22 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

That's already happened in some locations. Certainly in and around Birmingham there are quite a few Auris knocking about as taxis.

Think the next will be the Corolla, and probably the Touring Sport, which has the same size wheelbase as the Prius/Avensis.

As ever Frosty you’re probably spot on. There was a hell of a lot of bias by people around me when I first bought a Prius. It was a Gen3 but the spark was ignited back in the late 90’s when I was given the chance to drive a prototype Prius on the University of Birmingham campus at an open day.

I was impressed with what I found & as I was involved with research at the time linked to the development of such technologies & beyond, I couldn’t resist eventually buying a Prius. I’ve never had a problem whatsoever over the many years driving my Prius cars & my present Gen4 is proving to be as fantastic.

It’s only this pathetic stigma of low life characters classing my car as solely ‘a taxi’ that really rattles me because they are operating from a base of fact, but underneath I just wonder if they’re simply jealous of the fact that the car is so brilliant. It’s annoying!

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11 hours ago, BhxTrev said:

It’s only this pathetic stigma of low life characters classing my car as solely ‘a taxi’ that really rattles me because they are operating from a base of fact, but underneath I just wonder if they’re simply jealous of the fact that the car is so brilliant. It’s annoying!

The snobbery must be a UK thing.

I was going to chip in with my 2 cents to say I hadn't seen any Prius taxis in France, but I saw one yesterday ! OTOH, the taxi of choice here was always Mercedes Benz C or E class, these days it's any VW/MB saloon of a reasonable size, that includes the Skoda variants, too.

From all engineering standpoints a Prius can't be faulted, but it has never been the prettiest of cars.

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Well the Mk2 was not much of a looker but the Mk3 and 4 I thought were pretty sleek.

Certainly nicer looking that these ugly block-nosed SUVs everyone seems to be buying!

I do find Prius owners tend to be a bit more sensitive/defensive about their cars tho' :laugh: 

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19 minutes ago, Cyker said:

.... but the Mk3 and 4 I thought were pretty sleek.

Certainly nicer looking that these ugly block-nosed SUVs everyone seems to be buying!

That's quite an irony, though. Toyota innovated with the Prius, and the subsequent hybridation of the whole range. 

Now, Toyota can be considered as playing catch up with EV, although arguably, they have to, or they won't have anything to sell in 10 years time, unless of course the wind changes and the goalposts are moved! Their entry to the EV world is an SUV.

Renault, at least, got the size right with Zoe.

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31 minutes ago, Stopeter44 said:

That's quite an irony, though. Toyota innovated with the Prius, and the subsequent hybridation of the whole range. 

Now, Toyota can be considered as playing catch up with EV, although arguably, they have to, or they won't have anything to sell in 10 years time, unless of course the wind changes and the goalposts are moved! Their entry to the EV world is an SUV.

Renault, at least, got the size right with Zoe.

I’d have thought the Gen4 Prius was the ideal car to convert to an ev. There’s no doubt that it’s the range that’s upper most on anyone’s mind that wants to buy an ev. The amount of research into the aerodynamic shape of the Prius must surely improve the range, by how much I haven’t got a clue, but it might just be quite significant.

Also the Prius has already got regenerative brakes as well as a lightweight aluminium bonnet. I was looking at an MG ev recently but wasn’t in the slightest impressed especially when I opened the bonnet which is very heavy.

The Prius also has the advantage of being one of the safest cars on the road, according to videos of crash tests I think Frosty posted some time ago. If Toyota are to play catch up as far as evs are concerned, I reckon they couldn’t choose a better car than the Prius to to convert to an ev. What’s the saying, “If it ain’t bust don’t to fix it!”

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43 minutes ago, BhxTrev said:

The Prius also has the advantage of being one of the safest cars on the road, according to videos of crash tests I think Frosty posted some time ago. If Toyota are to play catch up as far as evs are concerned, I reckon they couldn’t choose a better car than the Prius to to convert to an ev. What’s the saying, “If it ain’t bust don’t to fix it!”

I said "If it ain't broken don't fix it" to the chief system engineer where I worked at the Tim, and he said "you are obviously not Korean!" (he being from Korea). I think from a marketing standpoint an entirely new platform is understandable.

I suppose Toyota coud have made gen 5 Prius as an EV, but it looks like they will be going the hydrogen route with the next generation Prius.

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I think Toyota does not play catch up with others, they simply started to produce bEvs although they know they are pointless and will live very short life, max 10 years from now on , they had to do it otherwise they will be at huge loss from missed opportunities to sell Evs.  
 Prius imo will,not return as bev or hydrogen fuel cell, perhaps if make a return it will be as hydrogen ice hybrid, Prius stands for been the first before anyone else “ from Google:

- “to go before”
 
Prius is a Latin word meaning "first", "original", "superior" or "to go before". 
 
Also there is one more thing,  a new power source technology will emerge in the next few years and it will completely change the world we know, how we travel, how we live and everything. Some says that hybrids have been the transition to the full electrification of the automobile, actually they are wrong, Toyota hybrids are the evolution of the internal combustion engine, end point, from where no more can be done with petrol as fuel and batteries as source of power storage. This also makes all Toyota hybrids the best cars currently and they can remain the major player pass their future ban 2035. The only way to stop people of using hybrids is to stop selling petrol, similar to what happens now with diesel at the pumps. 
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