[Tushar]

Big shoutout to Vid6639 and & .anshuman for shooting these pictures & their coverage of the Auto Expo. Thanks for sharing!

The Prius went on sale in 1997 and over 3.5 million units have been sold worldwide. Toyota revealed the Prius in its fourth generation last year and it's the first global vehicle to use the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). Toyota brought its popular hybrid to the 2016 Auto Expo, so here's a detailed look at the car that will make it to the Indian market soon.

The new Prius is 60 mm longer and 15 mm wider than the older model, while the height drops by 20 mm:


The docile design language of the outgoing Prius has been dropped in favour of more edgy styling cues. The old one blends into traffic, this one will stand out and is quite polarizing:


Aggressively shaped headlamps look like a samurai shaped them with a katana!




Super slim front grille:


LED headlights. Toyota has given the car's face an angry expression to "butch up" the Prius's image:


Bonnet is made of aluminium. Feels ultra-light:


1.8L, 4-cylinder, ECVT Hybrid engine has been revised for improved thermal efficiency. Net power output from the hybrid system is around 120 BHP. Engine bay is packed to the brim:




Good under-body protection:


Pillars swoop up and down sharply:




You get a nifty head-up display too:


Build quality and paint quality is impeccable. Has Euro car-like solidity. The Prius will be a CBU only and it will be more expensive than the Camry Hybrid when launched:


Door handles aren't your usual 90:10 split type:




196/65 R15 rubber:


Edgy styling gets amplified at the rear!


Boomerang-shaped LED tail lights:


Lights are evidently massive and cut the bulk of the rear bumper. Large tinted glass portion imparts a floating boot effect:


Plus sized rear wiper. The washer is juts out of the windshield:


Note how even the Toyota logo has a blue hue:


Blackened C-pillar for the floating roof effect:


All-round independent suspension:


Generous boot can gulp a healthy luggage load:


Different boot floor settings:




Parcel tray rolls out like a blinder:

[Tushar]

Dashboard looks futuristic. Interior quality is two notches above the predecessor's:




Passenger airbag can be deactivated by putting the key into this slot and turning it to the 'on' or 'off' position:


Healthy amount of space between the front occupants. Parking brake is operated by a button which is placed below the climate control buttons, alongside the gear lever. Helps free up room in the middle:


Telephony controls are almost invisible in white. The rest of the steering mounted controls are finished in black:


Nice attention to detail. Apart from the blue surround of the AC vents, the vent adjuster has a chrome badge with 'Prius' engraved into it:


White bits of the doors and cabin will stain easily:


Door ajar warning:


Auto-dimming IRVM:


Seat heater controls are awkwardly placed and difficult to reach:


The car also gets a wireless phone charger (below gear lever):


Piano black finish looks nice, but will be a canvas for dust:


Rear doors are massive and feel heavy:


Two six-footers can sit one-behind-the-other:




Fabric-trimmed seats gets ISOFIX:


Rear passengers get a 12V power socket. No rear AC vents:


Front armrest is humongous. Note how it opens sideways:


Rearward view:

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Auto Expo section!

[reignofchaos]

Looks absolutely ghastly - both inside and outside. The Prius was never a looker but this is bone chillingly ugly!

The dashboard design is so impractical - I don't understand this Toyota fascination for a centre mounted instrument cluster.

This one still has a front mounted HUD but still doesn't absolve it for not having the instrument cluster at the right place.

[sidzzone]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Looks absolutely ghastly - both inside and outside. The Prius was never a looker but this is bone chillingly ugly!

The dashboard design is so impractical - I don't understand this Toyota fascination for a centre mounted instrument cluster.

This one still has a front mounted HUD but still doesn't absolve it for not having the instrument cluster at the right place.

Totally agree! The designers have gone overboard with this design. Looks like Hyundai's Fluidic design language gone in the wrong direction for about 4-5 iterations (Especially the front and rear end)!

[shifu]

Originally Posted by Tushar

Passenger airbag can be deactivated by putting the key into this slot and turning it to the 'on' or 'off' position:

Why would you deactivate the passenger airbag? Never heard of this before. Are there other cars where this is possible? I wonder why one would need this.

[kkkkkaran]

Internationally, the prius would go up against something like a jetta/golf etc.
Why on earth will someone pay north of 40 lacs OTR for a Prius, regardless of it being CBU or CKD? If i really want a hybrid at that price point, I'd rather buy the camry, which comes with a superior drivetrain and is truly classy!
And if i want something compact, Id stick to the europeans and let go of the hybrid part.
At 25 OTR, it would make some sense, but priced above camry, its dead before launch.

[RaghuVis]

I always wondered why they are not keen to release PRIUS in indian Market. Maybe they thought it will not have any impact. After these many years and good designs later if they are going to release this one, Am sure it will restore their faith in the Indian market that Prius will not sell !!!

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by shifu

Why would you deactivate the passenger airbag? Never heard of this before. Are there other cars where this is possible? I wonder why one would need this.

This is standard on almost all cars. If there is a smaller person less than 4'10", the airbag should be deactivated as otherwise it can cause severe injury to the person.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Tushar

Note how even the Toyota logo has a blue hue

This is there even on the Camry hybrid and indicates that the car has a hybrid powertrain.

[nmenon]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Looks absolutely ghastly - both inside and outside. The Prius was never a looker but this is bone chillingly ugly!

The dashboard design is so impractical - I don't understand this Toyota fascination for a centre mounted instrument cluster.

This one still has a front mounted HUD but still doesn't absolve it for not having the instrument cluster at the right place.

Agreed.

The old Prius looks so much better if a bit boring.

This looks like something the designers came up with when totally angry and or high.

Toyota seems to have an unfortunate penchant for placing instrument clusters somewhere where the driver can't see it and the passengers can.

I can understand this in the Etios where cost cutting is the mantra, but on a high end car such as this, it just looks horrible.

But better than the rest of the interior and that hideous exterior.

[Tushar]

Originally Posted by shifu

Why would you deactivate the passenger airbag? Never heard of this before. Are there other cars where this is possible? I wonder why one would need this.

This is possible in several cars. It's primarily for little kids and infants. Airbags deploy with a lot of force and in the event of an accident, little kids can be harmed by that.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Tushar

This is possible in several cars. It's primarily for little kids and infants. Airbags deploy with a lot of force and in the event of an accident, little kids can be harmed by that.

Little kids/infants should never ever be in the front seat . It is meant for young adults and short people.

[vivee90]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Little kids/infants should never ever be in the front seat . It is meant for young adults and short people.

It is applicable in cases when a child is placed in special child/booster seat. Those special seats are placed facing the rear on the existing front seat and the airbag deployment would be a massive shock for the baby's neck.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by vivee90

It is applicable in cases when a child is placed in special child/booster seat. Those special seats are placed facing the rear on the existing front seat and the airbag deployment would be a massive shock for the baby's neck.

Child or booster seats again must be connected to the rear seat not front. Many modern cars have isofix mounts on the rear seats to attach these child seats. The car manufacturer also offers these booster seats as official accessories.