Toyota Motor Corp. is contemplating on whether to retain the aerodynamic wedge shape of Prius hybrid. According to Chris Hostetter, Toyota’s U.S. group vice president for strategic planning currently working with Toyota’s engineering team on the redesign of the Prius “There’s an undercurrent among most people that they’re ready for a new Prius look, “Maybe our architecture has been a little bit similar for the last two generations.’’

The exterior of Prius displays a neat and modern design, with large front air dam, 15 inch alloy wheels and sexy front headlamps. The body of Prius has been designed to reduce wind resistance, allowing a comfortable and speedy drive on the road. To aid in decreasing wind resistance, a particular design called Kammback was employed on the model.

The Prius interior is fitted with an auto climate control and the excellent audio set up. The interior has abundant room space, with front and rear cup holders and extremely adjustable and comfy passenger and driver seats. Another highlighting feature of the Toyota Prius is it has incredible fuel efficiency. The interior front head room space is 38.6 inches, rear headroom 37.6 inches, front hip room 52.7 inches, rear hip room 51.2 inches, front leg room 42.5 inches, rear leg room 36.0 inches, front shoulder room 54.9 inches, rear shoulder room 53.1 inches and interior volume 93.7 cubic feet. Toyota Prius also comes with a USB and auxiliary audio jacks, Bluetooth, push-button smart key and start key instead of the traditional car key. Another interesting interior feature is the Touch Tracer Display which comes with a series of touch sensors placed on the steering wheel enabling the driver to select trip display or audio control without looking at the road. This is a very advanced system, but gradually becomes more flexible to operate with.

The safety features are the model is designed to ensure a very regulated and firm drive with stability and road safety given prime importance, Anti-lock Braking system (ABS) with Electronic Breakforce Distribution(EBD), Air Bags, Active Headrest, Projector Head Lamps and Crash Safety Body to ensure high-end safety precautions. The car is engineered in a way to make it driver friendly by equipping the model with a push start to start the car and ad central locking for security.

The engine is a four cylinder type with a 142 Nm and a powerful horsepower of 98 Bhp. The exterior design of Prius proves immense sophistication and excellent engineering to design a model with the idea of making it wind resistant. The body also displays a smart, elegant stance. Apart from the excellent exteriors, the interiors also provide a large dimension, making more than enough space for head, shoulder and knee room. The Prius is equipped with impressive safety features by introducing a driver friendly model with push start and ad central locking thereby enhancing the security. The Touch Tracer Display is another safety feature which provides the driver with the advantage of having good control of the car.

The Toyota Prius has been doing considerably well in the US market, but the profit sale of Prius in India is dismal and the reason being the steep price of the model in India which is priced at Rs 27.86 lakh. Considering the remarkable exterior, interior and safety features, buying this model will be meaningful.

Tagged: 2013 Toyota Prius