“Simply because the Prius is an eco-car within everyone’s reach. In order to achieve carbon neutrality, everyone in the world must participate," he told reporters. "We need ecological solutions within reach of the many. And it needs to start today, not tomorrow.”
The fifth-generation Prius hybrid models will go on sale this winter first in
The automaker swapped an older nickel-metal-hydride battery for a smaller, lighter lithium-ion battery that puts out 15% more energy. The engine grows from 1.8 liters to 2, and the horsepower rises from 121 to above 190. As a result, zero to 60 mph (97 kilometers per hour) acceleration drops from over 10 seconds to around 7 seconds depending on the Prius version.
“That really will make for more confident driving,” said
The Prius, which first went on sale in 1997, switches back and forth between a gasoline engine and electric motor to deliver a cleaner drive than the models with regular combustion engines.
Electric cars are zero-emissions but need recharging. Some consumers are worried about running out of juice on the roads. A hybrid always has the gas engine as backup.
Still,
“The sale of more hybrid vehicles, including the Prius, drags us further into the climate crisis,” said
Read said electric vehicles and fuel-cell models are better solutions against climate change than hybrids.
Humphries said the new Prius was styled to be more stable, with a lower center of gravity, bigger tires, curvaceous lines for its overall design and a fancy interior.
“We really believed the next step for Prius was to become a ‘car without compromises’ in order to increase its appeal to the customer,” said Humphries.
The Prius, with its revamped styling and efficiency, will compete better not only with other hybrid models but also with the available generation of fully electric vehicles,
The Prius models have always served as a kind of bridge to a time when there are more charging stations for EVs, said Brinley, who believes the new Prius stacks up better against hybrids and plug-ins from
By adding 50% to the battery range, which translates to around 38 miles (61 kilometers), it can go far enough to cover the average
Krisher reported from
Krisher is on Twitter https://twitter.com/tkrisher
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission., source