Eideard

Prius V – American name for Toyota’s Prius station wagon

File this one under the category of unexpected. According to Integrity Exports, Toyota logged an outrageous 52,000 orders for its Prius Alpha hybrid over in Japan since the vehicle launched on May 13th. That’s astronomical considering that Toyota set a monthly sales target of just 3,000 units for the gas-electric MPV.

Toyota says that it will ramp up production of the Prius Alpha in response to soaring demand, but boosting output from 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles per month (Toyota’s modified production levels) by summer’s end still doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough.

Despite Toyota promising that the enormous demand for the Prius Alpha won’t affect the launch of the Prius V here in the States, Integrity Exports begs to differ…

Even my barely functional remembrance of things mathematical tells me this critter ain’t landing on time in the United States. Unless Toyota decides to [1] stop taking orders in Japan, right now, and [2] decides to screw some of the people with orders already in-house in Japan.

Toyota…has sold over one million Prius models in the United States since the vehicle first debuted 10 years ago. That number blossoms to two million once global sales are accounted for, and the model’s popularity has helped usher in a bloom of hybrid products from over 16 manufacturers. The technology may not be the perfect solution to our fuel economy concerns, but it has successfully taken off in ways that would have been difficult to imagine when the first gangly Toyota hybrid whirred off the line.

Now Toyota is set to grow its Prius lineup with three new models. In fact, Bob Carter, Toyota division group vice president and general manager, says that the Japanese automaker fully expects the Prius family to become its best-selling product line in the near future – beating out internal combustion titans like the Camry and Corolla in the process. As a result, the company is planning to unleash of a barrage of products that include a model based on the Prius C Concept, a plug-in version of the hybrid and the taller, boxier Prius V. The thought is that a few simple variations on the company’s successful battery-powered recipe will offer buyers solutions that the conventional Prius simply couldn’t match. The only question is whether or not the will respond to what is effectively a few clever re-body jobs. If the Prius V is any indication, the answer is a resounding yes.

Thanks to years of steady sales, legions of faithful buyers and an overwhelming popularity with the celebrity set, the Prius has established itself as an icon of automotive design. Toyota says that the Prius name has the highest brand awareness of any other hybrid on the road right now, and when it came time to design the Prius V, the company’s artists wanted to ensure that the newcomer was instantly recognizable as a member of the Prius dynasty. For aerodynamic reasons, that meant maintaining the wedge-like shape of the lift back, though with a slightly taller roof for greater functionality…

From the side, it’s nearly impossible to escape the wagon-like presence of the Prius V. With its long roof, similarly lengthy rear doors and an extended cargo area, the vehicle ditches the awkward hatchback aesthetics of current generation Prius for a twang of normalcy. We couldn’t help but grow a little fond of the vehicle’s shape after a day behind the wheel. It’s almost as if Toyota has flanked us by using our love for wagons to lure us into the hybrid craze.

Pretty detailed review and road test. Autoblog Green always does a fine job given opportunity and time.

This is not the Prius we would consider for our 2-person hermit commune. But, for someone with children [or strange extended relationships] the critter makes a lot of sense. Especially if you’re bright enough to buy a motor vehicle and keep it longer than the short time span manufacturers love to push us into.