Bigger and more powerful Prius in the works

That concept (in the rendering) will never make it to market.
The image in this article is more likely:
http://www.egmcartech.com/2008/07/03/2010-toyota-prius-to-get-bigger-more-power-and-better-fuel-economy/
It also showcases Toyota's cost-cutting: glass is cheap, but steel is cheaper (especially really thin steel) so the windows are tinier than the slits in an armored van!
(its those same slit-windows that give the RX-350 models their bizarre, ungainly proportions)

Interesting. I HATE the trend of slitlike windows.

kthor, getting leukemia from driving does not appeal to me either. What the bigger Prius needs is to toss out the engine and battery pack in favor of a nice H4 diesel.

So, with better economy, it will it come closer to VW's older TDI models, just as VW releases the new, bigger, much more powerful TDI Jetta (that also gets a "real-world" 60 MPG Hwy ... on a US gallon)
I loved passing all those SUVs and Prius's on I-5 in my '98 Beetle TDI, but I just sold it to my son.
We're ordering a new Jetta TDI Wagon (hi-line) with DSG 6-speed, which will blow the doors off any hybrid ever built.
And I'm commuting on a Yamaha Majesty (the A6 2.7t is up for sale)

Dieselrules did make a good point that his tdi beetle is better on fuel than the pathetic prius! Although I love the looks of this concept, it is just a facelift with a few mpg better on gas. PML blows this new prius away!

I completely agree that Hybrid is a much better alternative than diesel. Diesel's fundamental principals contracdicts all it's mission. It's more expensive to buy than a regular unleaded fuel. It's dirty, noisey, runs rough, and above all, slow in performance will only getting about 80% of what a hybrid of similar size could do. It doesn't have as much torque than hybrid since hybrid gets their torque at zero RPM and also very expensive to insure and maintain, not to mention to purchase in the beginning.

"dirty, noisey, runs rough, and above all, slow in performance"

That is simply not true. Modern diesels are quiet, clean, they run smooth and are very good in performance.

electric development didn't stop. there was no point as the old batteries really sucked.

Why compare a Tesla and a Beetle TDI. The Tesla is a tin can, put the same engine into a real car, or the same Beetle and you would lose quite a bit of performance and economy.

An electric engine is more efficient than a gasoline powered engine, or even a diesel, no point in debating that. But, the turbine that created the electricity is not that far ahead of the piston engine.

Boring & disgusting; typical Toyota(Lexus) designs. What's truly exciting about their looks? NOTHING!. I think my LS is the most boring to look at. A big car with a pricier tag should look more elegant than it does. However on the plus side it rides perfect over the bumps. Perfect for an old man(that i'm not).

Toyota needs to make this Prius look hip and cool in order to convince the younger consumers that a Prius is the next Civic to buy.

So it looks more hip and cool than a conservative A6 TDI or a Jetta TDI?.. You said ANY.

LOL !

No Toyota will be up there with the Gullwing. It will never cost as much as one too. You are seriously a troll even though you say you're not.

Don't even talk about Audi's designs. Have you seen my car? it's one of the most boring cars on the road despite my love for it haha!. It's not hip and cool and definitely won't get you any ladies (or in your case GUYS [go read the BMW PUTS LEXUS & MERCEDES ON NOTICE THREAD..He exposed his gender preference]).

Though I'll agree with some of what you say Agent, give it up with the sexual preference thing. This is a modern world. Do you really care? Does anyone else?

Agent63 - " I think my LS is the most boring to look at" ...

Then why the H*!% did you buy it!?!

I bought the LS because of the customer service. It's boring but it's not a bad car. It's just not as good as some of the fanboys say it is. I speak from experience and everyday use of the darn thing.

"Though I'll agree with some of what you say Agent, give it up with the sexual preference thing. This is a modern world."

And why in the ironic world would you give a shit what he thinks about another person's sexual preference? What are you, the thought police? Does everybody have to condone sexual deviancy???

And why in the ironic world would you give a shit what he thinks about another person's sexual preference? What are you, the thought police?

If I was of a policing nature, I would comment on your faulty inference of the world "ironic" to describe the situation. Opps, I just did! Damn me! Further, I dont care what he says I'm merely commenting on the fact that no one here (modern people I assume) cares what he has to say on the matter, in large part because this is a car forum, and given this is the third thread he's brought it up, it would be nice for the space to not have been wasted much like your comment and my rebuttal have now done. If you or him would like to discuss what your thoughts are on the matter, I invite you to a thread concerning philosophy and ethics. Otherwise, in the great words of myself "give it up." I dont care about his thoughts or yours. I just dont care to read them over and over and over again.

So this agent bought an LS, spent his own coin to purchase a car that he does not think is good enough.

Sound kinda' ridiculous doesn't it. But, whatever dude... But when you said you're young, that really confused me. Young people actually do a lot of research before they buy a vehicle. They tend not to rely on past accomplishments by automakers so much as the boomer generation.

"If I was of a policing nature, I would comment on your faulty inference of the world "ironic" to describe the situation. Opps, I just did!"

HOW IRONIC?! Maybe you should brush up on your English?

Again, you still dont know what "irony" means. Perhaps you should go brush up on yours?

Looks great, although it is the same ineficient car that it always was. My relative rented one for a road trip and he said that it was almost always in gas mode! The electric motor was too weak to back up a driveway so the gas motor had to start up to back up. He was very unimpressed.Why is toyota wasting there time producing nickel-metal hydride batteries when there are already batteries better than Lithium Ion? The new batteries have 5 times more range than lithium Ion and they are still stuck on old technology from ten years ago! PML is 20 years ahead of this inferior car!

Toyota are also working on Lithium Polymer batteries, I think you'll find it was GM who was still working on researching NMH.

BTW, 5th Gear did a test on the Bluemotion of VW, the claimed 70+ was no reachable.. they said they could only get around 50mpg

Diesel in my area is getting very expensive. I just bought a new car and wanted a diesel but for every penny jump in the price of regular gas, diesel goes up 2-3 pennies at least.

Why make the Prius larger? Is it marginally larger or significantly larger. I thin it fills a good niche. I have never been in a Prius, is it the same size a s a Carolla, why not make a Carolla hybrid.

Will next years Prius have the lithium battery or will it still be based on it's current technology?

That's kinda what I thought.

Either way, the "enthusiast" will complain!

The sailer, how about 640BHP and still more economical than the Prius! The company is PML, about twenty years ahead of Toyota. Check out the article on PML, It is an eye opener.

Agent63 - The LS leaves room for upgrading - it doesn't have polarizing looks - put some 22's on urs and a lowering kit. It does have nice exhaust openings. We get tired of seeing blk S550s here.

No. The lithium battery probably won't come until 2011 or 2012. Next year's Prius will still use the same, old, dated battery technology that's over a decade old.

Now I love diesel cars as much as the next guy. I had been a strong advocate of bringing diesel over to the US. But it seems the gas companies feel threatened by diesel fuel, and have raised diesel fuel prices to uninhibited, costly levels. At the current diesel gas prices, it doesn't make sense owning a diesel car anymore. Congress has to do something about this crime.

That's a shame because I keep reading about new technologies coming to market within the next 3-6 years that will greatly improve fuel economy, including new batteries, plug-ins, the kinetic flywheel, hydrogen (maybe longer term) etc. Diesel would have been a nice stop gap until we get there. There is too much money in oil that is hindering our progress in transportation technology.

Toyota has too much sh** up their sleeves - all they have to do is put AWD w/hybrid V6 in the ES...which i've heard things about. That thing will be fast and still cheaper than an A6.

midsize front wheel drive alleged luxury car based on a cheaper model...it sounds like the A6 to me since when did Audi step out of tier 3...honestly Lexus here in America is a more prestigious company....by a long shot than Audi

for all the prius bashing, buyers still have to get ON A WAITING LIST to get one.

people will likely STILL have to wait, when the new one comes out.

how many people are on waiting lists to buy a diesel car?