I own a 2012 Prius 4 which has been flawless. I had a chance to check out the Gen 4 Prius recently when I took mine in for routine maintenance. I like the changes, especially the low center console though I'm not crazy about the shiny white accents! My question is, why did they take away the solar roof option? I don't have a garage and the solar roof really helps keep the interior cooler by powering the fan on hot days. Now, compared to all of the advanced safety features, this is not a deal breaker...just wondering why Toyota decided to take it away. My guess is it cuts down on the weight which increases MPG.
Well the Prius Prime will be offered with a full solar roof (no moonroof and not in the U.S.) so maybe they were saving the solar roof feature for the plug-in? This time, the solar roof will charge the battery rather than cool the car.
The solar roof on the new Prime is a bigger project (more expensive) where the solar is used to charge the HV battery. Weight, cost, and roll-over safety regs in US are some of the reasons we heard for not getting in the USA.
back to the o/p's question, we don't know, but maybe they didn't sell enough, or maybe with the new roofline, it didn't work well. there have been more than a few disappointed priuschatters.
I forgot about the solar being used for running a fan. That was a good use, as it wouldn't produce a lot of real power. I wouldn't give up my moon roof for it.
In Australia, they sold very few - I suspect because of the HUGE price difference - an additional $8200 - it did include some other items, but if that's all you wanted of the extras, it's a lot of money for a solar fan. Some of those items weren't very desirable like wide wheels which cut fuel efficiency and a sunroof which nobody in the tropics/semi-tropics would ever want.
I hadn't thought about roll-over safety but when I first saw that all-glass roof (which does include a power moon-roof) I thought...that's a lot of glass! But if that's really a safety concern, I wonder how it got by US regs in the first place? The solar roof was part of an option package on the level 4 Prius that included things like navigation and upgraded audio system which I was more interested in. I only get the benefit of the solar controlled fan on really hot days (like today). I think the improvements on the 2016 model outweigh losing the solar roof...still, it would have been nice to have. Having a solar roof that charges the battery would be great for people like me who don't have a garage but I guess that won't be an option for US. For me, a plug-in would require installing an outlet on the driveway side of my house. Not sure how long it would take the fuel savings to pay for the extra cost of the car. I'm guessing the Prime will come in at around $39k with all options.
It's amazing when you think about getting 5-10% of your miles without gaso and without plugging in either. But it's apparently +$3000 and fairly involved electrically...there is an auxillary NiMH battery which collects the solar (we have a thread on it).
Then rent or lease it long enough to find out if it meets your expectations. I ran six weeks using a 120VAC 12A charger (technically a Level 1 EVSE) augmented by the occasional, high capacity Level 2 chargers. I easily added the charge needed for Prime / PiP EV overnight with the Level 1 charger. Bob Wilson
base prime should come in around base lift back after tax credits. but driving ev is usually not about saving money, unless you have really low rates, and gas goes way up.
I leased a Gen 3 2013 Prius III, nav, solar roof, moon roof. The solar roof was useful in that the fan kept the interior "bearable" when entering the car on hot days. I seldom used the "remote AC feature". When I leased the Gen 4 2016 Prius III last month, the sales person told me that he had been informed at a seminar, the solar roof had been "discontinued" for "lack of demand".
I understand solar roof options for venting the cabin have been available on luxury cars before the gen3 came along. Usually as part of a summer package that might be limited to southern markets. The Prius was the only non-luxury car I am aware of that had it. So I'm guessing the cost and demand likely didn't make sense to offer it on non-luxury models.
