The Corolla Touring Sport is popular PHV and possibly rivalling the Prius!

[Konrad C]

I have noticed lots of Corolla Touring Sports, many being PHV. Then on my phone or tablet, noticed an article stating that the Prius is losing sales to hybrids with Toyota's own stable. 

Here is the article which I think is US based - https://www.autoblog.com/2020/01/03/toyota-hybrids-beat-prius/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADtpsfBYnk9WsSlOK02h_iubRmVKuWPAHs2Fml-0skALc5HtxpJ67OwOwWY4jNdt9XTLQ9XeMAo-J2z9WW4P4lg8fT6Z63VX9mGKGWGxtwnsDdAbtWeaiU8xRRiP6quTPcCxIm-Koa-EmJA_MCy7_SZm6Rl9s5j4OkcUtszTpp4C

The Prius is an acquired taste for some including me, and also has that taxi PHV "stigma". As a private owner (non PHV/taxi), I would rather buy the Corolla over the Prius. I have also seen privately owned Corolla Touring Sports.

What is the general opinion.    

[nielshm]

The only Prius available in Denmark is the PHEV, wich means useless boot in a large car. Further more, the car is only designed for 4 passengers, max. load capacity is limited to 360 kg (4 passengers), heavy luggage will exceed that limit.

The Prius is No Go for me, but if it would return in a non-plugin version, I guess it could sell som units.

[Timmon]

It is a USA article, their tastes are different to European tastes, so it would be interesting to see what happens in the rest of the world. The article seems to focus on the saloon, which would be more popular in the States.

My gut is that a new model becomes more appealing , and much of the Prius technology has been used or enhanced in the Corolla.

i have seen that some taxi owners have taken up the HB Corolla, on this forum, but the general view is that the HB is a little compact for taxi use. Certainly, compared to my SAAB 93, which was supposed to be a comparable middle sized family car, the Corolla is tiny in comparison, with little leg room in the back, and roof line is quite awkward. Also not good for a lot of luggage unless you drop the back seats.

I have not seen the TS, but I would say that is the best option for a taxi. I would hope that there is much more luggage space, and a less awkward roof line in the back, and more leg room?

In which case, maybe the TS will become the next preference for taxi owners.

[OXYGEN]

1 hour ago, Timmon said:

...In which case, maybe the TS will become the next preference for taxi owners.

This is already happening in Serbia and Germany.

I have seen Corolla TS hybrid taxis in these countries.

[Konrad C]

1 hour ago, Timmon said:

It is a USA article, their tastes are different to European tastes, so it would be interesting to see what happens in the rest of the world. The article seems to focus on the saloon, which would be more popular in the States.

My gut is that a new model becomes more appealing , and much of the Prius technology has been used or enhanced in the Corolla.

i have seen that some taxi owners have taken up the HB Corolla, on this forum, but the general view is that the HB is a little compact for taxi use. Certainly, compared to my SAAB 93, which was supposed to be a comparable middle sized family car, the Corolla is tiny in comparison, with little leg room in the back, and roof line is quite awkward. Also not good for a lot of luggage unless you drop the back seats.

I have not seen the TS, but I would say that is the best option for a taxi. I would hope that there is much more luggage space, and a less awkward roof line in the back, and more leg room?

In which case, maybe the TS will become the next preference for taxi owners.

In Greater London and the Central London where Prius are numerous, I have seen lots of Corolla TS hybrids. I could make a collage of screenshots from my Dashcam footage from Sunday when I made a rare visit to drop a friend off at Euston station, then visited the Natural History Museum, the Winter Wonderland, and finally home. Prius was king, but the Corolla was next. There were the odd Hyundai Ioniq and Honda Insight, but nothing on the scale of even the new Corolla TS. Even Where I live in Bexley Borough, there are quite a few Corolla TS PHV's.  
Also I suspect a lot of diesel PHV drivers have switched due to the ULEZ, especially if the vehicle is regularly driving in slow traffic and the DPF is getting blocked! 
I think this is win win for Toyota. Maybe they could make an hybrid people carrier like a Verso. But that would then eat into the Corolla TS market unless there is no need for the extra seats. 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Konrad C
additional words

[TonyHSD]

Hi, well they have The Prius Plus which seats in between regular Prius and Corollas, has a 7 seats and larger boot space. Corolla really seems popular these days in taxi industry, I start seeing a lot of Saloon models often and to be honest that model looks best as a town taxi, plus have boot big enough to carry airport luggage for three or 4 cabin bags and one large one. Rear leg room is much better than Hatch, roofline too, as good as estate one. I actually like all three variants of Corolla. Kia Niro also very popular choice in the trade, together with Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Kona. I ev already seen few Hatchbacks Corolla and a Lexus CT200h as PHV. 
Regards 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota are targeting couples with the Corolla hatchback, and this has a shorter wheelbase than the TS and saloon, which have the same wheelbase as the current Prius.

Effectively the Prius Plus is the hybrid alternative to the Verso. Aside from that, most manufacturers have reduced their offerings in or pulled out of the MPV sector, as SUV's are the growth sector. VW are supposed to be reducing their MPV range. So as far as I'm aware, Toyota won't be replacing the Verso in Europe.

[Catlover]

Two good reasons why taxi drivers like Prius. 1) outstanding fuel economy 2) very good rear leg room.         
Corolla hatch cannot match either of those points, the TS (estate) can match the leg room (as Frostyballs says it has same wheelbase as Prius).  Certainly around the railway station in Warrington it is still crowded out with Prius taxis, many Gen2 as well as Gen3.       
Any stigma that a Prius is aligned with taxis does not bother me the slightest. It’s a brilliant car to drive. My first Prius, 59 plate Gen3 had been taxied for the 2 years prior to me buying it, that put 50k miles of its 105k miles. Taxis get well serviced and their MOT is tougher then “ordinary” cars, so can be classed as a good buy, as mine was and traded it in to get the Gen4.

[AndrueC]

On 1/7/2020 at 8:58 AM, Timmon said:

i have seen that some taxi owners have taken up the HB Corolla, on this forum, but the general view is that the HB is a little compact for taxi use. Certainly, compared to my SAAB 93, which was supposed to be a comparable middle sized family car, the Corolla is tiny in comparison, with little leg room in the back, and roof line is quite awkward. Also not good for a lot of luggage unless you drop the back seats.

Yup, that's one area where my Jazz won out. It could comfortably carry four adults on any journey. I wouldn't want to subject adults to my Corolla's rear seats for more than half an hour. Also, getting in and out of the hybrid is bit awkward for those of advancing years due to the low ride height.

I'll be very interested to see real-world MPG figures for the hybrid Jazz. One of the reasons I switched to Toyota was because Honda's hybrid tech didn't seem as good. If I remember correctly the CRV has worse fuel consumption and less power than the Rav4 so I don't hold much hope out for the Jazz. Having seen pictures of it in the press I'm also not too impressed with the new 'nose'. Honda seem to have gone for a 'cheeky chappy' look :-/