"At 94 mpg, the redesigned Prius would approach the lower end of the projected 100–150 mpg fuel consumption of EDrive’s aftermarket plug-in Prius. (Earlier post.) The EDrive conversion currently carries a price tag of about $12,000 in addition to the cost of the base Prius."

Now the plug-in zealots won't be satisfied with 94 mpg. :)

The Plug-in Hybrid's 100+ mpg is possible only when daily driving range is kept under 30 miles or less. For longer trips, average mileage will drop to under 50 mpg and less, depending upon the weight and class of the vehicle. If we want high mileage, we must drive less. And this initiates the resolution to the problem of too many cars and too great a need for long-distance travel.

The more fuel efficient vehicle for long-distance travel is mass transit. Denver operates a fleet of hybrid shuttles on their transit mall. They're a 45' completely low-floor bus with 4-doors and a 4-cyl 70hp engine (natural gas fueled), the same size as the Prius engine. The shuttle passenger capacity however is 117.

"The more fuel efficient vehicle for long-distance travel is mass transit. Denver operates a fleet of hybrid shuttles on their transit mall. They're a 45' completely low-floor bus with 4-doors and a 4-cyl 70hp engine (natural gas fueled), the same size as the Prius engine. The shuttle passenger capacity however is 117."

I'm a little confused. First you're mentioning long-distance travel, then your example for an efficient means of long-distance travel is a bus which has a one mile route on a dedicated busway? Plus, the passenger capacity of that bus is primarily standing passengers (since it's a short-distance shuttle). There's very few seats on those buses.

As for the powertrain, the 70hp figure is deceptive (since obviously one needs way more than a 4-banger with 70 hp to move a big bus with 100+ passengers). It's actually a series hybrid running a 2.5 liter engine off of CNG which charges batteries which power DC motors providing 440 hp at the wheels. The Prius has a 1.5 liter engine and is a series/parallel hybrid.

t, the 16th street mall is great but the shuttles are slow. I found that I can easily out jog them to get down from one end to the other. When I worked in lodo I used to race them from market street down to broadway on the other end. I never lost. I'm not in great shape either. Still, the buses are nice. Also, I don't think that the Prius or other high mileage vehicles are causing sprall. Property values have a much greater impact.

Cheer up lads. If Toyota pull this off, it will be brilliant. Even if they don't. it is a wake up call for the other car manufacturers.

They say it will run on battery in slow traffic and switch to petrol when it gets faster - doesn't sound like a plug in at this stage. I guess you could always hack it for EV only.
A s/w only hack might do the job for smaller distances.

But Go Toyota - this is the stuff we want to see !

Even plug ins need to switch to gas at high speeds. So that feature has nothing to do with whether or not it is a plug in. It has to do with the power of the electric motor and the power density of the battery.

If this report is true, Prius must be going plug-in. I don't see how you almost double the overall thermal efficiency of the existing Prius, which is what is implied by 94mpg.

Stormy: The motorman's friend? I need to unload more often than the car needs to load:-)

Eric: GM: RIP.

Deathwatch part 65 just posted, not as biting as some, but still interesting if you read it

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/content/11446279491694877051/index.php

A 94 mpg Prius? Yes it can be done but not without a big change. Lighter or bigger batteries wont do it. More electric power wont do it. You need to get more effiency out of the gas engine itself. One way to do this is with an exhaust powered generator. This my friends is not free engergy but it comes close. There is back pressure created but its not as much as the energy extracted. The exhaust actually exits cooler as more energy has been extracted from it.

The exhaust generator would generate more power for electric mode.

94mpg could also come from a HCCI gas engine which also wrings more power out of each gallon of gas.

The control electronics can get about 10% or so better with current advances in semiconductors with almost no increase in cost. They currently get quite hot and newer parts available today generate far less heat.

Yoshi, given the right driving conditions your point is irrelevant. People with short commutes will rarely need gasoline, especially if they are doing low speed city driving. Also, it should be pointed out that the 94 MPG probably comes from the japanese MPG test which gives the current Prius high numbers. Thus, the 94 MPG isn't as big a leap as it sounds and in real world conditions it may be difficult to achieve depending on commute, traffic patterns, weather, etc....

The new Prius will not be plug-in. Toyota has invested millions of dollars advertising the fact that you don't have to plug it in, and are firmly committed to that for the time present at least. The savings will come from a few things:

1) better battery technology

2) more efficient use of electric engine

3) lighter weight. The car can currently get much lighter by switching to an aluminum, using a tube frame, or carbon fiber body. Expect at least one of the above, but probably not all three.

"Alex, I wouldn't write off PHEVs from Toyota solely based on some of the previous hybrid ads."

$20 says it won't be a plug-in.