New Prius Takes On Insight With $20,000 Starting Price
Toyota is taking Honda’s Insight threat seriously… very seriously. In fact, the world’s largest automaker will price the new (third-generation) Prius directly in competition with the Honda’s Insight in the Japanese market.
Set to go on sale on May 18th, the new Prius will cost just $20,750 (2.05 million yen). The number isn’t official from Toyota, but that is the price that dealerships have been given.
The Insight has a starting MSRP of $20,470 ($19,800 before delivery), which is well below the expected Prius price of $24,000.
If the Prius does in fact get it’s U.S. pricing set at just over $20,000, it will be an attractive package as it is not only a larger vehicle than the Insight (with more interior room) but it also gets significantly better fuel mileage with 51/48 mpg (city/highway) compared to the Insight at 40/43.
Higher trim levels of the Prius will, however, raise the price significantly with the top level model coming in at 3.27 million yen (or $33,100). The fully-loaded Insight, on the other hand, will still only cost 2.21 million yen (or $22,370) in Japan.
Meanwhile Toyota, which has sad that it will keep selling the current Prius model in Japan, is discounting its MSRP to 1.89 million yen ( or $19,130).
[Source: AutoWeek]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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Toyota announced a low price on a yet-to-exist, stripped-down model of the Prius that MAY be released later this year. It is NOT even available now!! And, according to the New York Times: A Prius for $21,000? Good Luck Finding One! They said: Shortly after Honda announced that its new Insight hybrid would start at $19,800, Toyota said last month that it would offer its own starter Prius with a base price of $21,000. But if that unexpectedly low price has you reaching for your checkbook, good luck. According to Wade Hoyt, a Toyota spokesman, the stripped-down Prius I will mostly be sold to fleets. Getting one for civilian use in many parts of the country may require a special order, he said. It was a publicity-seeking announcement. The car doesnt even exist. Shame on Toyota!!