This is another rant on the new phev drivetrain and the potential of an awd option. The 2.0liter ice which powers the new Prius, Corolla Cross, etc. outputs 150hp. The non plugin battery discharges around 50hp. The combined output is around 200hp in both fwd and awd versions. Both fwd Corolla Cross/Prius come with a 110hp mg2 which (on kick down) is fully powered from the battery (50hp) and the ice (60hp). This leaves 90hp going from the ice through the gearing to the wheels to have a total of 200hp. The awd versions have a 40hp rear motor so the power flow changes a little. The battery has to cope with both rear and mg2 motors. When the battery spins the rear motor, mg2 (if needed) is powered mainly from the ice. This happens because the battery does not have enough power to give both rear and front motors. Now lets check out the Prius plugin, we have the same (150hp) ic engine an unknown discharge power battery and a more powerful 160hp mg2. To achieve the stated combined 220hp the ice will power the wheels through the gearset with 60hp, and at the same time mg2 will get 90hp from the ice and 70hp from the battery. We dont really know the maximum potential of the plugin battery but a 13,6 kwh sized unit should be able to output around 110hp. This means that the battery has 40hp to spare on a rear motor, upgrading the combined output to 260hp and matching the Rav4 prime performance figures. Additionally on low powered slow moving situations the rear motor could be more efficient exchaning volts with the battery directly. My guess is that the current Prius prime fwd ice/battery combo has a potential of 150+110=260hp but cannot funnel the power through the front wheels alone.
2023 Prius Prime Review: The Best EV Might Not Be an EV A quote from the article: "The regular, non-Prime Prius is available with a rear electric motor that makes the car all-wheel drive. When asked why this wasn’t available on the Prime, I was told it was for packaging reasons. This seems reasonable since the battery is packaged below the rear seat and is significantly bigger on the Prime. Unfortunately, Toyota does not like me enough to let me disassemble its pre-production car in the parking lot. I did crawl under the back of the car, though, and I’m not convinced it won’t shove an electric motor back there in the future. "Time will tell."
anything is possible, engineering takes time. what can't be done today because of limited time can sometimes be done in the future. and battery packaging keeps shrinking
The term "packaging" is more to do with decisions as to what bells-and-whistles go on what levels, not physical constraints?
It is certainly possible, as PHV 2016-2022 gained a 5th seat during its time on the market. AWD certainly won't happen in 2023, but they might refresh it down the line, repackage it and gain some space for another electric motor in the back. I personally highly doubt that, as I think they might improve other, minor aspects, of current 2023 (like solar efficiency, better stock wheels, washer that cleans both cameras etc. super minor things). But that all depends on Toyota's willingness to pour more money into this platform and ... I honestly doubt that it will sell all that great to warrant more notable revisions.
It could also be seen as a price issue. The Prime ain't cheap, and the extra motor's going to make it that much more expensive. Could well be the business case isn't there.
agreed. and if prime is just a compliance car, it might be pointless. however, idk anything outside the us. prime didn't sell well in the us in its first iteration, and it seems there are as many negatives as positives in this one. could they have sold more in canada? if so, why didn't they?
the CURRENT version of the Prime will qualify for a $5000 federal rebate- old one was just $2500. Another reason I think it will be popular in Canada.
the credit is to the consumer.... but you're right, Toyota does have to sell a certain # of phev's or face financial penalties.
