Toyota Australia has expanded its hybrid family once more with the addition of the new luxury-spec Toyota Prius V i-Tech.
Priced from$46,490,the new i-Tech variant adds a number of extra features to justify its$10,500 premium over the$35,990 entry-level Toyota Prius V seven-seater,which launched in Australia in May.
The Toyota Prius V i-Tech scores dynamic radar cruise control,satellite navigation,auto-levelling LED headlights with washers,electro-chromatic rear-view mirror,heated front seats,and a panoramic roof with an electric sunshade that raises the Prius V's height by 25mm to 1615mm.
The luxury model also sees the addition of a head-up display that shows navigation prompts,an eight-speaker JBL sound system with digital radio,premium seat coverings and park assist.
The Toyota Prius V i-Tech is fitted with a pre-crash safety system,adding to the standard safety package that includes seven airbags,reversing camera,hill-start assist,stability and traction control,anti-lock brakes,brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution.
The Prius V i-Tech,powered by Toyota's 100kW Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain that combines a 1.8-litre Atkinson cycle petrol engine and a 60kW electric motor,delivers fuel economy of 4.4L/100km and CO2 emissions of 101g/km.
The Prius V and Prius C city car both joined the third-generation Toyota Prius hatch in the first half of this year,and have clocked up 594 and 1516 sales respectively to the end of October.
The arrival of the new high-grade Prius V comes as the Japanese manufacturer celebrates the local milestone of selling 10,000 hybrids in a calendar year for the first time(combined sales for Toyota and Lexus),beating its previous best of 9422 vehicles in 2010.
It's been a mixed time at Toyota lately,with the news that the carmaker has sold more than one million hybrid vehicles worldwide in a calendar year for the first time(Toyota says its cumulative hybrid sales are now more than 4.6 million units)being joined by a string of vehicle recalls.
