CARBARN | Toyota Prius V (2012) | Thanks to years of steady sales, buyers and legions of Faithful's overwhelming popularity with the celebrity set, the Prius has established Itself as an icon of automotive design. Unsurprisingly, Toyota Says That The Prius has the highest brand awareness of any hybrid on the road right now, and it CAME time to design the Prius V, the company's artists wanted to Ensure That the Newcomer was instantly recognizable as a member of the Prius Dynasty. Up front, the vehicle wears Both Stylized head lamps and a rounded front fascia that's remarkably similar to the 2011 Prius, though it's worth noting That the front fenders and hood are completely new sheetmetal.
Toyota Says That the small change has a huge impact on interior noise. From the side, it's Nearly impossible to escape the wagon-like presence of the Prius V. With its long roof, similarly lengthy doors and an extended rear cargo area, the vehicle ditches the awkward Aesthetics of the current hatchback Prius for a twang of normalcy. It's almost as if Toyota has flanked us by using our love for wagons to lure us into the hybrid Craze.
We spent time in the top-o-the-line Prius V Five trim levels, complete with larger 17-inch wheels. From the rear, the Prius V offers up a fairly sizable hatch That terminates in a unique rear spoiler. Might as you have guessed, the piece Actually serves to benefit the Prius V aerodynamically. peaking of slipping through the water, Toyota's designers and engineers have worked to Decrease the vehicle's coefficient of drag as much as possible to increase of fuel efficiency. Such as, touches like protrusions from the front and rear bumpers, specially-designed side skirts and extensive underbody cladding help the Prius V returns its .29 coefficient of drag.
The material is 40 percent lighter than standard laminated glass and also helps Reduced solar gain to keep the interior cool on sunny days. Toyota built the hybrid wagon with a set of manually- ontrolled multi-function back seats can slide fore and That AFT, semi-recline and fold flat for a heap of versatility. As Toyota points out, that's more room than crossovers like the Chevrolet Equinox, Honda Element, Ford Escape or the Nissan Rogue can offer.
A total of four drive modes are accessible via buttons mounted on the center console, including EV, Eco, Power and Normal models. We found no lack of power in Normal configuration, event it Came to tackle the formidable hills near California's Half Moon Bay. Do yourself a favor and leave the vehicle in Normal mode. Toyota will not release final pricing information on the Prius V until closer to the model's fall launch date. The Prius V has all of the functionality of Those vehicles with the fuel economy and panache That can only offer the Prius name. We even think the Taller roof line makes the model more Becoming. For the first time, the Prius name stands for fuel economy and functionality.
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