Toyota Prius sales are falling in the United States
and the automaker is trying to reverse that trend by introducing the 2019 model
at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The biggest change is the addition of an electric all-wheel drive
system which used to be available in only a handful of markets such as Japan.
When equipped, the car comes with an additional electric motor that powers the
rear wheels at speeds up to 69 km/h.
The electric motor is powered by a newly developed
Nickel-Metal Hydride battery that has been designed to provide excellent
performance in cold weather. The battery fits under the rear seat and doesn’t
have any impact on the interior as the model still offers 1,854 liters of cargo space.
Toyota says the Prius AWD-e should be one of the
most fuel-efficient all-wheel-drive passenger cars in America. This seems
possible as the company believes the model will have a fuel economy rating of
52 mpg city, 48 mpg highway and 50 mpg combined. For comparison, the
front-wheel drive Prius L Eco is expected to have a fuel economy rating of 58
mpg city, 53 mpg highway and 56 mpg combined.
While Toyota was slow to offer the all-wheel drive
Prius in the United States, the company has high hopes for the model. If their
estimates are correct, up to 25 percent of Prius sales could come from
all-wheel drive variants.
Besides the newly available all-wheel drive system,
the 2019 Prius adopts a new front bumper and restyled headlights. The same
changes are echoed out back as Prius fans will find more traditional taillights
and a reworked bumper. The model also gains a revised steering wheel and two
new exterior colors called Supersonic Red and Electric Storm Blue.
All 2019 Prius hatchbacks will come standard with
the Toyota Safety Sense P suite of driver assistance systems. They include a
pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure alert with
steering assist, automatic high beam headlights and full-speed range dynamic
radar cruise control.
