3 Reasons Toyota Should Unveil A Prius Pickup
Jason Lancaster | Dec 29, 2010 | Comments 13
On January 10th, 2011, Toyota is going to unveil three new Prius models:
- The plug-in Prius hybrid that’s been rumored for years
- The Prius wagon that Toyota has hinted at for months (and that made an appearance at Toyota’s most recent Las Vegas dealer meeting)
- An unknown concept
I think the unknown concept that is unveiled will probably be a Prius coupe that we were all expecting to see last year. However, it could be a Prius pickup truck. We talked about the possibility of a Prius pickup truck in late September, 2010, and at that time we referenced news that discussed a car-based pickup shared between Prius and Scion: Scion would get the low-cost version that attracted younger consumers with lots of customization options, while Prius would get the higher-cost version with a hybrid drivetrain and great gas mileage.
Is Toyota's old A-Bat concept a future Prius brand pickup truck?
While we’ll always question the logic of a car-based pickup truck, there’s no denying that the marketplace anticipates a need. GM is talking about bringing back the El Camino and the next Ram Dakota will be based on a car. If Toyota decided to invest in a new Prius model in early 2008, there’s a pretty good chance they looked at building a pickup. The popular opinion at the time was that gas prices had really hurt truck sales and that there was a strong need for a fuel-efficient truck. Add in all the news we’ve seen and it sort of makes sense…
Here’s why Toyota should unveil a new Prius-powered pickup next month:
1. It would impress consumers. Ask almost any consumer and they’ll tell you trucks get bad gas mileage. If Prius builds a pickup that can really get decent mileage – say 30 mpg – consumers will be congratulating Toyota for being smart enough to offer a truck that gets decent gas mileage. It’s one thing to make a fuel-sipping sedan, but it’s “technological wizardry” to make a fuel-sipping pickup.
2. It would put Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat on the defensive. None of these companies can point to a successful hybrid product a hybrid half as successful as the Prius OR a truly fuel efficient truck. Ford comes close with their new EcoBoost F150 plans – but a 30mpg Prius truck would blow that out of the water.
NOTE: I don’t know if a Prius pickup would get 25 mpg, 35 mpg, 28 mpg, etc. I’m just assuming that a Prius pickup would be 20-30% more efficient than the most efficient pickup available…and that would be at or near 30 mpg.
3. It broadens the appeal of the Prius brand. For as long as the Prius has been available, it’s been associated with eco-friendly Hollywood lefties and the smug, “holier than thou” environmental elite. While this characterization is obviously unfair, I guarantee that “Joe Sixpack” would have a different opinion of the word “Prius” if it included sporty and/or utilitarian vehicles…and that would broaden the appeal of the entire brand.
Also, unlike the New York or Los Angeles Auto Shows, Detroit is a great place to unveil a pickup truck. Anyone want to place a wager? 🙂
Comments?
Filed Under: Auto News
A hybrid pick-up to me is not such a great idea. You would need a huge battery pack weighing around six or seven hundred pounds (just a guess) that would bring mpg down tremendously. The battery would probably cost a lot too not to mention the cost just to design it. Finally, I bet the Tacoma with the four cylinder could out perform it. Look at the CR-Z. It only gets around 30/40 which is still really good but it only weighs 2500 lbs. A truck that weighs at least 4000 lbs would need a really big battery and probably only get about 23 mpg average. Even if it got 26 mpg average, you could never pay off the extra cost just for the battery.
Tundra Geek members are not liking it so far but I’m remaining open minded. It takes a certain individual to like the Prius in the first place so lets see how they will like this version.
This kind of stuff always makes me laugh. A Prius concept truck can’t even touch the functional use of trucks that are driven today. You can dress it up to look like a truck and claim it gets great mpg but does it have the torque and frame to tow? I doubt it. If it comes out with a 2500 tow rating….does that put it in the same class as a VW Beetle?
Oh and let’s not even address payloads. I suppose there is a market for folks that drive trucks but never use them for anything else. But that never made much sense to me.
Steve H – I agree that a Prius pickup wouldn’t be as financially cost effective as a small motor in a Tacoma…but that never stopped hybrid sales before. Most hybrids aren’t cost effective when compared to small cars with efficient gas only motors.
Dez – I can’t imagine many died-in-the-wool truck dudes would be a fan of a hybrid Prius pickup, but that’s not really who Toyota is going for, so I think that’s OK! 🙂
rich – I agree with a lot of what you say, but GM sold hybrid pickups that were significantly more expensive and only half as capable as their gas counterparts. There’s a Halo effect that comes with building a fuel efficient truck, and a there just might be a market.
To no one in particular: TO be clear, I think a small, car-based pickup is a fundamentally flawed idea. However, with plans for car-based trucks coming out from Dodge and GM, I have to consider that I just might be wrong about the possibilities. If gas is $5-$6 a gallon and a little pickup comes out that gets 30mpg, it might be a winner.
One manufacturer definately needs to offer a compact fuel efficient pickup. So why not Toyota. I’m not a real big Hybrid fan though. Remember the Luv, Courier, Datsun, and the Brat. Offer diesel and the gas option also. I think the diesel Luv got close to 30 mpg. The Hilux got around 24-26 mpg. I also think Ford is making a mistake by not selling the Holden Ranger stateside.
Jason…I guess one would have to look at the numbers to see percentages of pickup usage. Personally, I could never figure out why an individual wanted to pay extra fuel cost just to drive this type of vehicle. Is bigger better…when it comes to functionality the answer is probably yes. I just don’t consider (with today’s technology) a pickup with lithium bats and an engine powered by a squirrel, even close to being in the same class. BTW the public is fooled when it comes to going green by utilizing lithium bats, but that’s for another day. Have a great New Years!
The only hybrid that I see as successful is the Prius. Maybe the insight. I think Toyota would be better off equipping the Tacoma with the same electric motor in the prius. When you think about it, the tacoma double cab with the four cylinder only weighs about 3600 lbs (the reg cab is about 3200). The Prius weighs just over 3000 lbs. The battery might weigh maybe 250-350 lbs which would bring the tacoma to almost 4000 at the most. The power would increase to nearly 200 hp and almost 230 lb ft of torque. This could get the truck to hit that 30 mpg mark. It could however turn out like the honda cr-z that would probably get just as good gas mileage if it lost the ima system and dropped a few pounds.
Scratch that. Take the highlander hybrids synergy drive system and put it in the v6 Tacoma. Highlander hybrid gets 28/28 and the tacoma would weigh nearly 300 lbs less. It would get at least 28 mpg.
I would buy a hybrid tundra or tacoma ONLY if offered in a four door with room for 5 adults comfortably either in a tacoma or DC tundra ONLY with a 6.5′ bed and got 25 mpg all for say 3K more ONLY than I paid for my 5.7L gas V8 ONLY if able to tow 5K payload. I really don’t need the 5.7L and could get by with the 4.6L, but no ‘real’ truck buyer around here even considers a 4.6L tundra all macho like they are. Heck, if these conditions were met and still got 25mpg, I’d highly consider it. But, I know it won’t happen and ALL conditions of mine will never be met. I am still looking for Toyota or Chevy to build my dream truck like Ford has with a 6.5′ bed with 4 real doors in the F-150. Might have to consider this in a few years once the V6 Ecoboost is out and finding out the issues if any with that engine ONLY if it gets say 23 mpg vs. my 17 mpg I get now. I think all my conditions can be met if they tried, but mfgs. do NOT listen to their customers very well and engineers and designers are usually not ‘real’ world drivers of trucks.
A Prius truck. I guess we can look like the Honda Ridgeline. The wife has a Prius and I definitely don’t like the room it doesn’t has. I drove her car the other day and had to pull over to stretch out because my knee’s were hurting. Like mentioned above it could work in the Tacoma. A good possibility even for me. Now when “HYBRID” is mention GM came out with a so-call “HYBRID” in 06 for the Silverado. All it was a truck with a couple of electric plugs in the bed for contractor running their air compressors. It did nothing for gas mileage. GM is still pushing Hybrid for the Tahoe/Suburban which only got 20mpg hwy. I get that now with my 5.7. It will be a wait-n-see.
Paul – Great point. Fuel efficiency can be achieved without a hybrid electric drivetrain.
Rich – I’m not arguing with you – your logic is solid. All I’m saying is that consumers aren’t logical when it comes time to buy a car. A little “gas price panic” could do wonders for hybrid truck sales regardless of the actual economics. Happy new year to you as well and thanks for commenting!
Steve – Good call! Didn’t even *think* of checking the weight of a Tacoma against a Prius or Highlander hybrid. That’s very encouraging news I think.
anon – I’m with you on most respects, and I’m sure that a lot of people would love to buy what you’ve described. I also agree that it’s not very likely to see what you’ve laid out anytime soon.
Also, I have to say that the 4.6 is a powerful little motor and really not that bad. If you compare it to Ford’s old 5.4L (circa 97-2010) it’s pretty capable.
Mickey – Wait-n-see is right. I’m not hearing any concrete evidence of a Prius pickup, but I’m 75% certain a Scion pickup (based on a car platform and similar to the A-BAT concept) is on the way.
Prius pickup truck is now rummored to be known as Prius-T T – used for truck version on the A-BAT concept truck.
If the A-BAT is given the green light for production, I think the prius T would be more like the compact pickup trucks from the 1970’s, and 80’s. Where generally thought of as light use compact pickup trucks with limited trailer ability.
Toyota makes a mid-size pickup called Tacoma, and full size Tundra pickup truck. Why not also have a compact pickup truck that is fun to drive, and great on fuel mileage? A 3rd line of pickup truck would give toyota a wider range of choices for an ever increasing gas prices, and if gas goes above 5 dollars a gallon, the working class gardener’s of american are dearly going to need a prius pickup truck so they can stay profitable.
pie – Great points and thanks for the tip. If you have any news like that please don’t hesitate to email me directly – admin@tundraheadquarters.com
Your point about towing is spot-on I think. The biggest problem with little trucks is that they need to be beefy enough to tow, and as a result they don’t offer much better fuel economy than a full size. But, if you remove that design requirement and say “this truck isn’t meant for towing” you could build a car-based pickup that would get good mileage. Toss in a battery pack and it could get great mileage.
But is there really a market for a compact pickup that can’t tow? Seems like compact SUVs already fit the bill…not arguing just wondering. 🙂